The Other End of Time
by SamanthaKathy
Summary: When the war goes completely wrong, Harry goes back in time to change things. But, his plan goes horribly wrong... How will Harry deal with this?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros

1. Sorting Troubles

"You will survive yet again, Mister Potter," Poppy Pomfrey said.

Harry grimaced; he could've told her that two hours ago, before she'd started prodding him in all kinds of places. She always did that, and it had gotten worse since the war had escalated. He supposed he couldn't blame her.

"How's Hermione?" he asked.

She'd gotten hurt too in the attack on Hogsmeade. Sometimes he wished he'd never started the D.A. back up again in his sixth year, but he knew that all the students needed to learn to defend themselves, especially if they were close to him. Being close to him had cost Neville, Dean, Seamus, Ginny, and Ron their lives. And those were only a few of the more recent deaths.

Madam Pomfrey's face became an impassive mask, one he had come to know far too well in the last two years.

"How bad is it?" he asked.

Madam Pomfrey shook her head.

"She's not going to make it through the night. I'm sorry," she said softly.

Harry got up from the bed, and walked towards the end of the hospital wing, where he knew the dying patients were kept. Hermione was lying on a bed, looking paler than the sheet beneath her. Harry had to grab the edge of the bed to keep himself on his feet, silent tears running down his face. He couldn't handle this; he couldn't lose Hermione, his last friend. He just couldn't.

Hermione's eyes opened, and she looked at him with understanding. She was always understanding, no matter what happened. She reached for his hand, and he grabbed it like a lifeline.

"It's alright, Harry," she said.

Harry shook his head. He wanted to say that it was not alright, but couldn't get a sound out of his throat.

"It's not the end, I thought up a plan. You can undo all of this. Remember third year?" she said softly, but urgently.

Harry's eyes widened at the implications. Time-travel, of course.

"But a timeturner won't work. I'd have to go back two years, that's too far."

"No, not two years; eight years, to just before you went to Hogwarts. You can prevent the deaths of Cedric and Sirius, and start searching for the Horcruxes much sooner. The Headmaster doesn't have to die, and neither does Snape," she explained.

Of course she would mention Snape; she'd been obsessed with proving his innocence after sixth year. She'd managed it, too, but not in time to prevent the Ministry from administering the Kiss to him. Harry'd never liked the man, but he could admit that he'd deserved better.

"Then how? I'd love to start over, with what I know now, but how?"

"There's a little red book in my chamber, behind the painting of the little mermaid. The code is my wedding date," Hermione said. "It will explain the entire ritual to you. I meant to provide some directions for changing the time-line while preventing you from straying too much, but it seems you'll have to figure that one out on your own."

Harry frowned for a moment; Hermione wasn't married. But then he remembered her telling him of her engagement to Ron. She'd also said what her ideal wedding date would be, but because of the war, they had decided to wait. The whole thing seemed a bit complicated to him, but he was sure it would be clearer if he read the book.

"Clever, 'Mione," was all Harry had the chance to say before almost being bowled over by Madam Pomfrey.

"You'll need to take your painkillers now, Miss Granger," she said, holding out a potions bottle.

"The right date is in two days, you'll need every minute to prepare," Hermione managed to add before the painkillers knocked her out.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Two days later, Harry stood in front of Hermione's tombstone.

"Tonight's the night, Mione. It'll be fine, I'll see you on the first of September," he said, before turning back to the castle. He still had a plan to complete.

In an abandoned classroom in the dungeons, he re-checked the markings on the floor once more. He was glad Hermione had done all the equations, because he didn't understand anything of the Arithmancy part of the ritual. He vowed to take it instead of Divination when he re-took his third year. He was glad he understood the rest of it. If everything went right, he would transport his spirit to the past to reside in his eleven year old body. His current mind would merge with that of his past self, retaining his knowledge of the future, but dulling it slightly, which not only took care of a paradox where there were two Harry Potters at the same time, but would also take care of a great deal of his nightmares. Not to mention protect the memories from Occlumency and all kinds of truth potions and spells.

Seeing that everything was set, he paged through the book again. On the last page, Hermione had written a single sentence, and underlined it five times.

Do not change the timeline too much, or any information from the future will be nullified by the changes.

This meant he had to change as little as possible. Up until fourth year in the tournament, he wouldn't change anything. There, he would make sure to reach the trophy first, alone, and he would take Wormtail out, and take him with him. Voldemort, he would leave behind for Crouch, so that he would have a body. You can't kill a spirit, so that part was necessary. Then, the hunt for the Horcruxes would be opened, and Sirius would be cleared, so he wouldn't fall through the veil. From that point on forward, all was open. He just hoped the Horcruxes would stay in the same locations, so he could round them up quickly, or at least keep an eye on them.

It might have been easier to just go back to the beginning of his fourth year, but something about his growing magical core at that time made it impossible for the ritual to be completed successfully. There were a lot of equations behind it, and Harry didn't understand any of it, but he trusted Hermione's calculations. She'd obviously known he might have to do it on his own, because she'd frequently explained things in a simple matter. She'd written that if they were to bring him back when his magical training at Hogwarts had already begun, there might be an adverse reaction with his magic, so it should not be tried. The ritual was dangerous enough as it was without adding another factor into the equation.

He checked his watch; it was time. According to Hermione's book, all he had to do was stand in the exact centre of the markings and chant a long spell in old Welsh. It had taken him almost a day to get it memorized, and if he said something wrong, he'd probably blow himself up. But he was too tired of his life to care. He had nothing to live for anymore; it was either doing it all over again, or dying. He didn't care. He'd rather die trying to change things than by the hand of Voldemort. There was just no chance of defeating him, and Harry knew it. Even if he could be defeated, the Wizarding World was in a shambles. Too many had died. This really was the only way, and even Hermione, who was still a stickler for rules even during the height of the war, had realized it. Harry took his place, and with a deep breath began his chanting.

"Chyrch 'm bacia at 'r heibio i righting camau a yn cyfnewid hanes , yn cyrchu dangnefedd unto 'r dirio , chyrch 'm bacia i mewn hysbryd , chydia ag ag 'm heibio i."

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Almost seven weeks after the ritual, Harry was dropped off at King's Cross station. The ritual had worked, and Harry had awoken in his cupboard on the day his Hogwarts letter, the first one, had arrived. It had been hard to pretend not to know anything, not to know Hagrid, who'd been one of the first casualties after Voldemort's resurrection. In fact, it had been much harder to act like a clueless eleven year old boy then he'd thought. But he'd managed it, although he wasn't sure how he'd manage now. He was going to see the Weasley family, which had died out with Ron's death three months ago. Well, eight years in the future minus three months would be more accurate. As he saw the achingly familiar and very much alive redheads, he took a deep breath.

"Excuse me, Ma'am, but do you know how I can get on the platform?" he said, showing Mrs. Weasley his ticket.

"Of course, dear, first time at Hogwarts?" she said, just as spontaneous and loving as he remembered her. "My Ron's a first year too. Now, you just walk through the wall. If you're a bit scared, it's best to do it at a little run."

Harry smiled, and turned his trolley around. In no time, he was through the wall and looking at the Hogwarts Express. With a smile on his face, he grabbed his trunk. Unfortunately, he'd underestimated his own strength, being used to an adult body. The trunk clattered noisily on the floor, almost causing him to drop Hedwig's cage.

"Here,"

"Let us –"

"Help you –"

"With that."

Even before Harry had turned around, there was no question of to whom the voices belonged. He was glad he was used to the twins talking like that, it made them a lot easier to follow than the first time around. They helped him get his trunk in the empty compartment he'd pointed them to. Harry hoped that everything worked out as before, and Ron would join him. And indeed, Ron did. As soon as Ron was inside, Harry cast a surreptitious wandless notice-me-not charm. That should keep Malfoy away, and hopefully keep the antagonism down. Harry reasoned it shouldn't have too much effect on the timeline. The rest of the way was spent chatting about Quidditch, Ron's family, and - after Harry had taken the charm off the door long enough for the witch with the trolley to offer them sweets - chocolate frog cards. Finally, they reached Hogwarts.

Everything went exactly as before, up until the sorting. Harry was sorely tempted to make contact with Hermione, who was just as anxious for the sorting as Harry remembered, by comforting her, but he didn't dare change the timeline that much. He decided to wait for the troll incident, not wanting to ruin their friendship, or missing out on it, by doing something wrong.

Harry had been dubbing things over in his mind; he almost missed McGonagall call his name. Ignoring the whispers, he walked towards the three-legged stool and put on the Sorting Hat. Suddenly, he was glad the ritual Hermione had found included some sort of Occlumency shield around the part of his mind that contained his memories of the future. He didn't know how much the Hat told Dumbledore, but this was something he wanted, no, needed to keep secret. He couldn't be stopped, his mission was too important.

"Ah, mister Potter, a keen mind, lots of courage and ambition. Oh, yes, I know exactly where to put you. It's going to be …" the Hat said into his mind.

Harry relaxed, safe in the knowledge he would be sorted into Gryffindor. At least he hadn't had to argue with the Hat not to be put in …

"… SLYTHERIN!"

Harry sat frozen on the stool for a moment. He didn't understand how this could've happened. But how wasn't important, the fact was, it had happened. And with that, the timeline was severely compromised. In a daze, Harry walked towards the Slytherin table. Before he knew it, he'd shaken hands with Malfoy, Nott and Parkinson. He shook himself away from his thoughts. He would have time to make plans later tonight, when everybody was asleep. For now, he'd have to be on his toes. After all, he'd just landed in the snake pit.

Looking up towards the Gryffindor table, he saw Ron sitting there, talking to Dean and Seamus. He tried to catch Ron's eyes, but it didn't work, as Ron was either focused on the conversation with his housemates, or his food. A small stab of fear ran through Harry. This alternate sorting had really messed things up, and he feared for his budding friendship with Ron. Would a ride on the train and his reputation as the Boy-Who-Lived be enough to override Ron's prejudice against Slytherin? It had taken Hermione three days after she'd uncovered evidence to clear Snape's name to get Ron to believe it. That didn't give Harry much hope.

"So, Harry, what's your favorite subject?" Malfoy asked.

Harry looked up. He really didn't want to be drawn into the conversation, but he didn't want to make too many enemies either. After all, it looked like he was stuck in the snake pit for the next seven years.

"I don't know, we haven't even had classes yet," he answered.

"What do you mean, you don't know? After the basic training you should have at least some idea what you might like," Parkinson exclaimed.

"Yes, well, unlike you, I'm Muggle-raised. My family isn't magical, so I haven't had any basic training," Harry answered back, slightly peeved at the girl.

"Didn't you receive the standard Muggleborn basic training booklets?" Malfoy asked.

Harry looked at him. What was Malfoy talking about? Basic training booklets?

"Wizarding history booklets? Wizarding etiquette booklets? Wizarding customs booklet? Dealing with magical creatures booklet? Using magic in everyday life booklet? Magical laws and regulations booklets?" Nott said.

Harry just dumbly shook his head. He hadn't even known all those booklets existed, let alone received them. Could it be that he had missed some crucial information that could have helped him, by never getting these things? And more importantly, why hadn't he gotten them? More of Dumbledore's machinations, perhaps. The man was a fighter for the light side, that was for sure, but Harry didn't like his methods one bit.

"Well, no worries, we'll just talk to Snape, he'll get them for you. That way, you know the most important things," Malfoy said.

Harry's mind felt like a rollercoaster. Malfoy helping him, despite his non-magical background, was just too much to handle right now. For the rest of the meal, Harry just concentrated on his food. He didn't want to think about changing timelines, booklets he never got or nice Malfoys. It worked, for the most part.

When dinner was over, Harry stood with the rest of the first year, and started to follow the prefects to the Slytherin common room, but Malfoy pulled him back. Harry frowned angrily.

"Come on, Harry," Malfoy said. "Let's see professor Snape right now. He's our Head of House, by the way."

Snape was about the last person Harry wanted to see, and he would bet Snape felt the same way, but Malfoy didn't give him a choice. Malfoy dragged Harry to the head table, where Snape was still seated. As they approached, Snape sneered in their direction, but Malfoy didn't take any notice.

"Professor Snape, could we talk to you for a few moments?" Malfoy asked.

"Can't it wait until tomorrow, mister Malfoy?" Snape answered, less biting than Harry had expected.

"I'm afraid not, sir," was Malfoy's answer, although Harry had already started to nod his head.

Snape stood, and walked from the Great Hall towards his office. Harry didn't have a choice but to follow him, as Malfoy was still gripping his arm. Once inside the office, Snape gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk. While the boys sat down, Snape did too. He sat leaning backwards, looking relaxed, but his dark eyes took in every detail. Harry avoided his eyes, for he had no wish for his mind to be invaded.

"What would be so important that it could not wait until tomorrow?" Snape asked.

"Harry never got the Muggleborn booklets, sir," Malfoy said. "If he gets them tonight, at least he can read through the basic training ones before classes tomorrow."

With Malfoy's words, Snape leaned forward.

"And why, pray tell, would you need those booklets, mister Potter?"

Malfoy opened his mouth to answer that, but Snape silenced him with a single look. Harry bit his lip; he really didn't want to be here.

"I was Muggle-raised, sir," was all he said.

"I see," Snape answered, sounding like he knew that answer was coming, but the slight widening of his eyes belied that. "I will see to it that you receive them from one of the prefects. Be sure to read at least the first chapter of each booklet about the courses. That will give you the bare basic facts needed to get through your first lessons. You can read the rest of them tomorrow afternoon."

With that said, Snape brought them to the Slytherin common room and told them the password, Iunctum quod amicitia. When they entered, they saw that most of the students were still in the common room, catching up with their friends. The common room looked exactly like Harry remembered it from his second year, only what had then been an empty and cold room was now full of life and warmth. He wondered if it was just the fact that the scene was similar to what happened in the Gryffindor common room after the summer holidays, or if it was just his own perception on things that made the difference. Whatever it was, it didn't matter much. Malfoy was, yet again, pulling him towards a small group of first years. Nott and Parkinson were there, as were Crabbe and Goyle, to whom Harry was introduced.

After the introductions, Harry zoned out of the conversation. He wasn't interested in talking to the Slytherins, he needed time and peace to think. He needed to work on a new strategy for befriending Ron and Hermione. He needed to change his plans, and he couldn't concentrate on anything, for all sorts of thoughts kept running through his mind. It was a good thing a prefect sent them to bed, after giving Harry his booklets, for Harry was in no mood to converse with Malfoy's little group, and they were insistent on drawing him into the conversation. Harry wondered what they saw in him, seeing as he wasn't exactly of the same inclination about blood status and all that rot.

Once in bed, Harry let his mind go to the most important topic at the moment: his change in plans because of his faulty sorting. Hermione might still get trapped by the troll, so he wouldn't worry about that yet. But Ron might pose a problem. He would have to try and talk to Ron the next day, see if his sorting had influenced Ron's opinion of him in any way. Only after he knew how Ron would react could he make more concrete plans on befriending Ron.

With that problem solved, at least partly, he started to devise a strategy to try and survive in the snake pit. He needed to keep his distance from all of the Death Eater children, which amounted to everyone except Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass. He couldn't hang out with two girls all the time, let alone such girly-girls. So he needed to make friends among his year mates without being to close to them. Of course, he could also be a loner, until he had friends in other houses, but it seemed that Malfoy's group, with Malfoy himself in particular, wasn't going to let him be a loner.

With a sigh, Harry stopped thinking about that particular problem. He would just judge any situations as they came up, trying to keep his distance to the rest of Slytherin for the time being. With that as his last thought, Harry fell into a restless sleep, completely forgetting to read his booklets.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

2. Enigma

Severus Snape had never dreaded a September first as badly as this one. The very first September first that he was a teacher had been bad, but nowhere near this one. And all because Harry Potter would be coming to Hogwarts.

Severus had heard from Hagrid that Harry Potter looked exactly like his father. He thought it to be an omen of the troubles ahead. Surely the boy-wonder would end up in Gryffindor; where else could the arrogant little twerp go? Severus dreaded having to teach the little brat for at least five years. Of course, with his luck, it would be seven years before he would be rid of the brat in his classroom.

But Severus didn't have the time to think about the Potter brat that day because, like the rest of the teachers, he was busy with last minute preparations. Severus was done just before the students arrived, and by the time the sorting began, he was seated at his customary place.

He carefully watched as several children of his old companions were sorted into Slytherin. There were no surprises; Malfoy and Nott, for instance had been a given. Then Potter came. Severus didn't give him much attention. He'd scrutinized the boy while the Hat was singing and had found nothing he didn't expect. The boy really was a clone of his father, especially if you couldn't see his eyes. Suddenly, Severus's attention was drawn towards the boy, because the Hat had called out Slytherin. He could hear Minerva's gasp of surprise, and furious whisperings between Pomona and Irma. Severus didn't show any of the surprise he was feeling, but it was hard. Potter in Slytherin was the last thing he expected. With much difficulty, he forced his attention back to the sorting. He couldn't afford to miss the first reaction of the students who were sorted into his house. It often told him a lot about their personalities.

When the last student was sorted and dinner had started, Severus kept an eye on his new group of first years. He was still trying to determine why Potter had been sorted into his house. He also realized he needed a new plan, for he couldn't treat Potter in the way that he had in mind, because like it or not, Potter was now one of his Snakes.

Before Severus knew it, dinner was over and the prefects were guiding the new first years to their common rooms. Severus was looking forward to some alone time to figure out how to handle the Potter situation, but it seemed it wasn't to be. Draco Malfoy was dragging Potter towards him.

"Professor Snape, could we talk to you for a few moments?" Malfoy asked.

"Can't it wait until tomorrow, mister Malfoy?" Severus asked, really not wanting to have a conversation with Potter before he had a chance to devise a strategy of dealing with him.

"I'm afraid not, sir," was Malfoy's answer, although Severus noticed that Potter had already started to nod his head.

Severus hid a sigh and stood up. He walked towards his office, the two boys trailing after him. It was obvious Malfoy had the lead, and Potter was quite reluctant to talk to him about whatever this conversation was about. Despite his misgivings about talking to Potter right now, Severus couldn't help but be curious as to what was deemed so important by Malfoy.

Once inside the office, Snape gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk. While the boys sat down, Snape did too. He sat leaning backwards, looking relaxed, but his dark eyes took in every detail. Potter was avoiding his eyes, but Malfoy met them square on. Not surprising, he'd expected Malfoy to be a bold one. But, the almost demure attitude of Potter was puzzling. He was expecting more of the bravado that James Potter had exuded. Perhaps the sorting had not been what Potter had expected.

"What would be so important that it could not wait until tomorrow?" Severus asked.

"Harry never got the Muggleborn booklets, sir," Malfoy said. "If he gets them tonight, at least he can read through the basic training ones before classes tomorrow."

With Malfoy's words, Severus leaned forward. He failed to see why this would be a problem; after all, Potter was hardly Muggleborn.

"And why, pray tell, would you need those booklets, mister Potter?" he asked the boy.

Malfoy opened his mouth to answer that, but Severus silenced him with a single look. He wanted Potter to answer this one. The boy was looking very uncomfortable now, but he did answer.

"I was Muggle-raised, sir," Potter said.

"I see," Severus answered, although it came as a big shock to him.

He'd never expected Potter didn't know anything about the magical world. It would explain his unease. He'd have to remember to treat the boy as a Muggleborn. They always needed a little extra attention to settle into the Wizarding World.

"I will see to it that you receive them from one of the prefects. Be sure to read at least the first chapter of each booklet about the courses. That will give you the bare basic facts needed to get through your first lessons. You can read the rest of them tomorrow afternoon," he told the boys, after which he led them to their common room and gave them the password.

He then made his way back to his office, but almost there he changed his mind and kept walking. He ended up at the door to Minerva's office. A short knock and he was invited in.

"Something wrong, Severus? I hadn't expected you to stop by on the first day, you usually lock yourself in your rooms," Minerva said.

He looked at his colleague and friend, one of the few he had. Should he tell her, or was it just some silly notion? Minerva's gaze grew increasingly worried the longer Severus remained silent, until he decided to just put in on the table.

"It's about the Potter boy," he said.

"Oh, surely you're not here to whine about him being in your House?" Minerva interrupted him, exasperated.

"No, but I just had a small conversation with him and Mister Malfoy. Apparently, he never received the Muggleborn booklets he should've got, seeing as he's Muggle-raised and knows absolutely nothing about the Wizarding World," Severus said.

Minerva gasped, looking disbelievingly at Severus. He just nodded his head gravely to indicate that he was telling the truth.

"I can not believe that old … Oooh, I'm going to kill that man. I always said those Muggles were no good, I told him that very night, but would he listen? Nooooo, because of course, _he_ always knows best," Minerva screeched.

Severus sat back, letting her rant and rave. He had suspected Dumbledore was behind it, but hadn't known for sure. Now he did. He could see Dumbledore's reasoning, but he didn't like it. Especially since the Potter boy was now one of his Snakes.

"Severus, promise me you will look out for that boy's best interest, despite James's behaviour," Minerva said, having calmed down a bit.

Severus promised her, and with that he left to go back to his own rooms. The next day would begin soon enough.

As usual, the next week of classes went by quickly. Before Severus knew it, it was Friday afternoon. He would have the Slytherin first-years in class for the first time, and he was curious how the Potter boy would behave, and even more curious to see if he had his mother's talent in potions. Shaking his thoughts away he walked into class, where he began to take the roll call. After ascertaining that everyone was there, he began his speech, which he had written especially for this class. He wanted to make an impression on them. And if he was honest with himself, he hoped to spark Potter's interest in potions, just like his mother's had been.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses ... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

After those words, a heavy silence fell over the class. He looked around to see the effects of his words. Potter, who was sitting next to Malfoy, looked interested and alert, just like Malfoy and a very eager looking Gryffindor girl. He believed her name was Granger, but wasn't sure.

"Potter!" said Severus suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

He knew Potter would probably not know the answer, but he couldn't not ask a question above his level. Just in case… After all, the boy had a whole week to read through his books. If he had any interest in potions, any at all, he would at least be able to make a guess based on the ingredients.

"They combine into a very powerful sleeping potion known as the Draught of the Living Death, sir," Potter said, softly but clearly.

Severus almost drew in a shocked breath, but managed to keep his emotionless mask on. It wouldn't do for his class, especially the Gryffindors, to see him surprised. He had not expected the boy to get the answer right. It warmed him to know the boy had indeed been reading his potions book, and maybe even more. He decided to probe a little further, to see how far the boy's knowledge went.

"And where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" he asked.

The Gryffindor girl put her hand up, again, but Severus wasn't interested in her. He wanted to know if Potter knew the answer.

"In the stomach of a goat, sir," Potter said, without any hesitation.

Severus was hard-pressed to contain a smile. He decided that he'd ask one last question before starting his lesson.

"Last question, mister Potter. What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Severus could swear the boy smiled a little before answering the question, yet again correct. Severus nodded his head and awarded ten points to Slytherin. He then set them to work on a simple boil cure potion. He always had first years make this potion in their first lesson, because it only had one point that could be really botched up, and it gave him the perfect opportunity to see which students couldn't follow simple instructions. Those were the ones to keep an eye on during later lessons.

Not even an hour later, Severus found out which student had to be supervised more closely to prevent disaster. The Longbottom boy had added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron of the fire. After carting the boy off to Poppy and cleaning up the mess, Severus ordered the rest of the class to continue with their own potion. Really, if they kept being distracted by every minor incident, it would lead to a lot more accidents. Severus rubbed one of his temples. Honestly, he just wanted a class where everyone could read and follow simple instructions; was that so much to ask for?

At the end of the class, he inspected the cauldrons. Most potions were decent for a first try, some, like those of Crabbe and Goyle, were atrocious. Clearly they were not Potions Master material. The potion of the Granger girl was almost perfect, but slightly off in colour; she'd probably stirred it too vigorously after adding the dried nettles. He told her it was passable, which was entirely true, but she looked angry. Apparently, she wasn't used to criticism. Pity, she would have to get used to it. He didn't hand out compliments where they weren't deserved. The last cauldron he inspected was that of Potter and Malfoy. He looked into it, and saw, to his surprise, a perfect potion. He peered at both boys: they both showed some talent and as such it was impossible for him to determine which boy had made sure the potion turned out perfectly. He would have to split them up and pair them with more incompetent partners to see their individual talent. But still, they held promise. Severus felt oddly proud, especially of the Potter boy, who had turned out to be a real enigma.

"Very well done, ten points to Slytherin for a perfect potion," Severus said, then dismissed the class.

HPHPHPHPHP

That Saturday night, Severus surveyed the meeting room to make sure everything was in place for that evening. The comfortable couches, his own large wing backed chair, the low coffee tables. Everything seemed to be in order. Just then, a soft pop announced the presence of a house-elf.

"Wibly has everything ready for tonight, Professor Snape Sir. Does Professor Snape Sir want anything else?" the house-elf asked him.

Severus ran through a mental checklist of things.

"Only pumpkin juice to be served tonight, except for my own cup of tea?" he asked, waiting for the house-elf to confirm. "Suitable snacks, some healthy, some not, but absolutely no favourite snacks?"

Once again, the house-elf confirmed. Severus nodded and dismissed the elf, satisfied. Then, for a last check, he grabbed his wand and checked the spells on the room. They were still intact, good. Although they wouldn't be needed tonight, he didn't want to conduct a meeting without them. Preventing was always better then curing. Satisfied everything was ready, he closed the door that led to his rooms and opened the one that led to the Slytherin common room.

Standing in the door opening, he appraised the scene before him. All over the common room were groups of Slytherins, some playing games, others doing their homework. Although it was by no means quiet, there was still a serene kind of atmosphere, an atmosphere of over-all unity. There were lots of little groups, but they knew they belonged to one large group. His House was a unity, and Severus was very proud of that. There was almost never discord between his Snakes, and if there was, it was quickly resolved, either by his Snakes themselves, or by him if it was more serious. Merlin knew his Snakes faced enough troubles outside of his House, he wanted them to be able to feel safe inside it, and feel like they belonged. He, of all people, knew how important that feeling of belonging was.

He took another step, effectively placing himself in the room. A ripple of silence descended over the room, as all those present stopped what they were doing to look at him. Severus smiled.

"It's time for the House Meeting, if the prefects will gather everyone not yet here, and do a head-count. The rest of you, put away your things, we're going to need the room. After all, we did gain nine new members this year. Wherever will we put them?" Severus said.

There was a smattering of laughter at his joke, while everyone did as they were told. With a swish of his wand, Severus turned all the couches and chairs towards one of the fireplaces, and took up position in front of it. With a nod of one of the-seventh year prefects, he started addressing his Snakes.

"Welcome to the very first House Meeting of this year. Let me first say to all of you, it is good to see you all again. I saw most of you in your Year Meetings this week, except for the first years, whose meeting will be tonight." Snape inclined his head towards the first years, who were gathered together on the left side of the room. "Having said that, I will remind you all of the House Unity. We are one House, brothers and sisters as long as we are within these walls. Family feuds, and other affiliations, are nothing here. In here, you are all Slytherins, nothing more, but certainly nothing less."

Severus looked sternly at some of the members of feuding families, just to make sure they had the right mindset after being away for an entire summer holiday. It didn't seem that anyone was looking for trouble, which pleased him.

"Now, for some points you all need to hear. Firstly, the Headmaster was deadly serious when he said the third floor corridor is of limits. You will be playing with death if you go there, and worse, you'll be facing my wrath."

He looked at everyone, noticing that none seemed surprised, and none seemed disappointed or nervous when he made that announcement. It pleased him, for it meant that whomever was after the Stone didn't use his Snakes for it.

"Next, you are all welcome during my normal office hours for potions questions, or other homework questions or school-related things. Do not hesitate to come by. My Slytherin office hours are, as usual, each Saturday and Sunday morning from ten until twelve, use them if you are in need of someone to talk to, no matter what the subject matter. Emergency meetings with me may always be requested, remember, I'm here for you, and always willing to listen, no matter the time of day, or night. Most of you know the drill, if you need me immediately, and I am not in my office, go to my classroom. There are wards that will let me know when anyone enters. I will be there as quick as I can in that case," Severus said.

He wished all those meetings weren't necessary, but he knew that they were. Slytherin House had a history of attracting the lonely and abused, mostly because those situations cultivated certain character traits that made them perfect candidates for his House.

"Now, I believe that was all for tonight. The next full House Meeting will be before the first Quidditch match. Now, if the first years will follow me?" he concluded, and walked into the Meeting Room.

A/N: thanks to my beta Logical Quirk!

A/N 2: if you want up-date notices, please join groups./group/Samanthakathysfanficiton


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros

3. Change of Plans

"Harry, wake up, come on, get up," a male voice said.

Harry groaned, he didn't want to wake up, he didn't want to face the daily horrors of war. Then, in a rush, his memories came back to him. He was back in time, and worse, he'd been Sorted into Slytherin. He now recognized Malfoy's voice.

"What time is it?" Harry mumbled.

"It's six o'clock," Malfoy said.

At that, Harry shot up.

"Six o'clock! What the… Classes don't begin until nine!" Harry sputtered angrily.

Harry scrambled for his glasses and put them on. He could see Malfoy clearly now, his hair sticking out in all directions and an imprint of his hand on his face. Normally, seeing Malfoy less than perfect would have pleased Harry, but since it was six o'clock on Monday morning, it didn't.

"Well excuse me, Mister Grumpy. Next time, I'll think twice before I set my alarm bloody early to wake you up, just so you can read your booklets before class," Malfoy said, clearly annoyed.

Harry blinked a few times. He'd totally forgotten about those booklets.

"Eh, thanks," he said, a little bemused.

Malfoy looked mollified, and walked back to his bed, clearly intending to get some more sleep. Harry picked up the first booklet of the stack, Charms.

An hour and a half later, the other boys in the dorm began to stir. Harry had read through all of the books' first chapters. Most of the information hadn't been new, although it would've been nice to have known it before he started his first year the first time. Some of that stuff he hadn't learned on his own until third year. But the Potions booklet boggled his mind. Its first chapter was crammed with information he'd never known. Things like 'weigh the ingredients after you've processed them' or 'clean your knife after every preparation'. No wonder he could never make a potion come out right. No wonder Snape had graded him so badly, the man must've thought he was completely incompetent to net even be able to get basic things right. Harry frowned. Had it been Dumbledore's plan to keep Snape and him at odds? Harry wouldn't put it past the old man.

"Hey, you done?" Malfoy asked.

"Yeah," Harry answered, "I've finished all of the first chapters. Thanks for waking me, I'd completely forgotten about those things."

Malfoy just nodded. Then, both he and Harry got themselves ready for the first day of classes.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

When Harry walked into the Great Hall for breakfast, he separated himself from the other first year Slytherins and made his way to the Gryffindor table. Ron was sitting there in an animated conversation with Dean.

"Hey Ron, how was your first night here?" Harry asked him.

Ron didn't even turn around, nor stop his conversation. Harry put his hand on Ron's shoulder, intending to attract his attention. It worked, only a little too well.

"Don't touch me, you traitor," Ron shouted, while pulling away.

"Traitor?" Harry stammered, shocked by his one-time friend's reaction.

"Yes, traitor. Defecting from the Light to consort with Dark Wizards. Go back to Slytherin, traitor," Ron spat.

Harry was shocked, overwhelmed, and hurt by Ron's violent rejection of his offer of friendship. Almost mechanically, he went to the Slytherin table and sank down next to Zabini.

"You'd better get used to it, Harry," Malfoy said softly. "It's how most of the Wizarding World see us."

Nothing further was said about it, but Harry discovered Malfoy had spoken the truth. In the first couple of days of school, Harry had lost count of the many injustices against Slytherin. Points lost that were undeserved, far harsher punishments than other Houses would get for the same infraction, and when they got points, it was always less than the other Houses would get for the same things. Harry was appalled. This was yet another thing he'd missed the first time around. No wonder Snape favored his Slytherins so much; he had to, to keep things a bit balanced. No wonder so many Slytherins turned to Voldemort, he offered them acceptance, fairness. Not that he delivered it, but by then it was far too late.

And, on Wednesday evening, Harry had had enough. He decided to chuck away the old plan. Things had changed too much already. He was going to befriend Hermione now, not later. He was going to free his godfather, and try and save the Slytherins from falling into Voldemort's hands. How he was going to do the last, he had no idea. And for freeing his godfather, he needed to find out about the Marauders, so he could get the story of Sirius and Pettigrew. He knew, but he wasn't supposed to, yet. Figuring McGonagall would be his best bet to hear about the Marauders, he decided to ask her about his parents after the first Transfiguration class.

That Thursday afternoon, part one of the new and improved plan, as Harry had started calling it, was set into motion, as the first Transfiguration class commenced. Everyone, even Ron, was on time. Harry, who'd taken a seat at the front, kept an eye on Professor McGonagall, who was sitting on her desk in cat-form.

"Looks like the old lady is late," Ron joked.

Seamus and Dean laughed, but most students just grinned. Harry did too, but only because he knew 'the old lady' could hear everything. Suddenly, McGonagall leaped of her desk and turned back into her human form mid-leap. The laughter stopped immediately, and utter silence descended the classroom.

"I can assure you, Mister Weasley, that I am never late," McGonagall said.

She left it at that, which surprised Harry a little. He'd expected her to take some points from Gryffindor for the name-calling and disrespect. Soon though, that matter was cast aside, as McGonagall started her lesson. After a few warnings, and turning her desk into a pig and back, which was still impressive, she started lecturing. Harry made copious notes. Not only did he want to be in her good graces by being good at transfiguration, he'd also seen in the war that his lack of magical knowledge hindered him. Magical strength without knowledge could only take you so far. And since Harry had decided to change the time-line, he might as well improve his academics by actually studying this time.

In the second part of the lesson, McGonagall gave everyone a matchstick, with the assignment to turn it into a needle. Harry cast a sideway glance at Hermione. In the original time-line, she'd been the best of the class, the first one to accomplish the task. He felt a little bad about stealing that away from her, but his wish to impress McGonagall so he could get the information he needed was stronger. Harry concentrated, waved his wand, said the spell, and the matchstick turned into a needle. McGonagall came over.

"Oh, that's very good, Mister Potter," she said, picking the needle up. 'Now, next time, envision the wood transforming into metal, and it should be perfect."

She placed the needle back on the table and went to help Neville with his pronunciation. Harry frowned. What did she mean, 'next time it should be perfect'? He picked the needle up, and immediately knew what had gone wrong. The needle was still made of wood, albeit metal-colored wood. Harry frowned again. He didn't know what had gone wrong, he'd done much harder transfigurations without any faults. Then, suddenly, it hit him. He had done much harder transfigurations, but his magic hadn't. And that meant he would have to practice to get his magic back in shape.

Harry tried the spell again, this time focusing extra on getting his magic to do what he wanted. When he was done, he had a perfectly transfigured needle lying on his desk. McGonagall awarded him ten points and seemed very pleased. Phase one of Harry's plan to get information about Sirius and Pettigrew was complete.

After class, Harry stayed behind, and approached McGonagall.

"Is there something, Mister Potter," McGonagall asked.

"Ehm, I was wondering, Professor, of you could tell me something about my parents," Harry said. "I mean, because they were in Gryffindor…"

McGonagall smiled, and Harry relaxed a bit.

"Of course, Mister Potter," McGonagall said. "Well, your father was very good at transfigurations, as you are, it seems. He was also on the Quidditch team as a Chaser. He was head boy, and was very popular under the students. You look like him very much, although you have your mother's eyes. As for your mother, she was very smart. I believe she excelled in Charms."

Harry smiled, but groaned inwards. He already knew this. He tried to ask some questions, but got rather short answers. In the end, he hadn't heard a single story about the Marauders, which surprised him, and frustrated him. McGonagall had said she had nothing more to tell him, so Harry was back to square one. He had no idea who he could ask next. Harry sighed, defeated. Maybe there was just nothing to do until third year.

The next day, however, Harry was in no way occupied by getting Sirius out of Azkaban. Instead, his thoughts were on the first potions class, which was that afternoon. He'd thought long and hard about how to behave during potions. The first time around, Harry had held a keen interest in potions, but it had been squashed in the very first lesson. Now though, he would have the opportunity to explore his interest, as he was sure to be treated better now, especially with knowing the basics this time. He'd decided not to hide his, although limited, knowledge of potions. To disguise it, he'd read his potions book, and had checked out another one from the library, both of which were surprisingly interesting.

In class, Malfoy had taken to sitting next to Harry, and so it was in potions too. Snape stood at the front of the class, observing them, then started his speech, after taking roll call. This time, he made no nasty comment after he called Harry's name. Harry felt relieved, it seemed he was right. Being a Slytherin did offer him some protection from Snape's dislike. He hoped his interest in potions would take away the rest.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," Snape began his speech. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses ... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Even though Harry had heard those words before, they still kindled the interest he already had in potions.

"Potter!" Snape said suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry had expected the question and answered calmly.

"They combine into a very powerful sleeping potion known as the Draught of the Living Death, sir."

The next question came in quick succession of the first.

"And where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

"In the stomach of a goat, sir," Harry answered.

"Last question, mister Potter. What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Snape asked.

Harry smiled a little. Even though Snape hadn't changed his facial expression, it seemed Snape was pleased with his answers. He still snapped out the questions, but to Harry, Snape seemed mild.

"It's the same plant, sir," he answered.

Snape granted Harry ten points, then set them to work on a boil cure potion. Harry worked together with Malfoy, and the other boy was very good at potions. They were about half-way through with their potion, when a scream alerted them to the fact that something was wrong. Harry looked up. It seemed Neville had made the same mistake as in the original time-line, and Harry pitied him. But, Harry wasn't given the time to reminisced about the past, as both Snape and Malfoy ordered him to continue on with the potion. Well, Snape ordered the whole class, but still. At the end of the class, Harry and Malfoy had produced a perfect potion, which earned them ten points. Walking out, Harry saw Hermione's sample of the potion. It was slightly off in colour. He now understood why Hermione hadn't gotten a full grade, both this time and before. The potion wasn't entirely correct. Once again, he had misjudged Snape, finding him unfair where he was just exacting.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Saturday evening found Harry alone in the Slytherin first years dorm. He was reading through the Wizarding etiquette booklet, which was very enlightening, when a prefect came in. Harry looked up.

"Everyone is to come to the common room," the prefect said.

Harry nodded, and put the booklet away after marking the page. Walking into the common room, he saw Snape standing in front of one of the fireplaces, and what looked like the whole House sitting in chairs and on the couches, all facing Snape. So when the prefect said everyone, he really meant everyone, Harry mused. He quickly made his way over to where the rest of the first years had gathered, and sat down next to Nott. Harry wondered what this was all about.

"Welcome to the very first House Meeting of this year. Let me first say to all of you, it is good to see you all again. I saw most of you in your Year Meetings this week, except for the first years, whose meeting will be tonight," Snape said.

House Meeting? Year Meeting? Harry was confused. This had certainly never happened in Gryffindor.

"Having said that," Snape continued, "I will remind you all of the House Unity. We are one House, brothers and sisters as long as we are within these walls. Family feuds, and other affiliations, are nothing here. In here, you are all Slytherins, nothing more, but certainly nothing less."

Well, that explained why no-one had bothered him about being the boy-who-lived, Harry thought.

"Now, for some points you all need to hear. Firstly, the Headmaster was deadly serious when he said the third floor corridor is of limits. You will be playing with death if you go there, and worse, you'll be facing my wrath," Snape said.

Harry wasn't worried about the Stone; Quirrell wouldn't be able to steal it until the end of the year, so he had until then to come up with something.

"Next, you are all welcome during my normal office hours for potions questions, or other homework questions or school-related things. Do not hesitate to come by. My Slytherin office hours are, as usual, each Saturday and Sunday morning from ten until twelve, use them if you are in need of someone to talk to, no matter what the subject matter. Emergency meetings with me may always be requested, remember, I'm here for you, and always willing to listen, no matter the time of day, or night. Most of you know the drill, if you need me immediately, and I am not in my office, go to my classroom. There are wards that will let me know when anyone enters. I will be there as quick as I can in that case," Snape said.

Harry was incredulous. Snape really gave a lot of attention to his Slytherins. But still, Harry was wary of trusting the man. After all, McGonagall had always listened, but never done anything to help.

"Now, I believe that was all for tonight. The next full House Meeting will be before the first Quidditch match. Now, if the first years will follow me?" Snape said.

Harry stood and walked with the other first years after Snape. They went through a door, and entered what appeared to be a sitting room. The door was closed behind them with a wave of Snape's wand. He sat down in a large wing-backed chair.

"Please, take a seat," Snape said.

The first years did as he said. Harry was seated on a couch between Malfoy and Zabini.

"Now, this Year Meeting is to get to know one another a bit. In this room, we are all on a first name bases. You may call me Severus in this room, but only in this room. Now, I've ordered some snacks and drinks," Snape said.

He had not yet said it, or plates of snacks and pitchers of pumpkin juice, together with cups, arrived. Harry was till recovering of the shock of being allowed to call Snape by his first name. Everyone took a cup of juice and a couple of snacks.

"Now, we'll start easy. I ask a question, answer it myself and then the rest of you will answer it. We'll go clockwise. So first question, what's your favorite color?" Snape said. "Mine is dark green."

Millicent was first, and answered her favorite color was yellow. Tracey and Daphne both said pink, while Draco said green.

"I like blue," Harry answered.

Blaise said he liked blue too. Vincent, Gregory, Theodore and Pansy all proclaimed green to be their favorite.

"Good, now what's your favorite snack? Mine is fudge," Snape said.

Millicent was first again, and said pumpkin pie was her favorite. Tracey said chocolate, as did Daphne.

"Mine's Belgian chocolate. My father's got a box of them in his office, he specially orders them. Sometimes he lets me have one, they're the best," Draco answered.

Harry thought he sounded so spoiled, but kept his mouth shut. He'd had some trouble deciding his favorite snack.

"Lemon drops," he answered.

Snape looked surprised, and asked him why. Harry smiled wistfully.

"Fond memories," was all he answered.

Blaise admitted to liking pistachio nuts best, while Vincent's favorite was strawberries. Gregory choose muffins, and Theodore choose licorice. Pansy professed a love for Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans.

"Daring, Pansy," Snape remarked. "Now, what pets do you have. I own a snake."

Harry was surprised to hear that, but he wasn't surprised when Millicent told them she owned a black cat. He still remembered Hermione's predicament in second year. Tracey and Daphne didn't have pets, while Draco had both a horse and an owl.

"I own an owl," Harry answered when it was his turn.

Blaise also owned an owl. Vincent and Gregory didn't have pets, Theodore owned a horse, and Pansy owned an owl.

The questions kept coming, and Harry learned more about the Slytherins in those few hours than in the entire seven years he had gone to school with them. Snape kept the questions simple, to Harry's relief. It wouldn't do to reveal too much of himself. That night, Harry fell asleep with a smile on his face, remembering the fun he'd had with his fellow Slytherins.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

4. Discoveries

When the Year Meeting of the First years was finally over it was already very late. Still, Severus decided to pay a visit to Minerva, certain she would still be awake. She never went to bed early, and right now, he needed a stiff drink and a long talk with his friend.

"Severus?"

Severus blinked, and looked straight into the concerned face of Minerva. He couldn't remember reaching her rooms, nor knocking.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

Minerva nodded.

"Do you want a drink?" Minerva asked.

"Do you have something strong?" Severus asked.

That got him a concerned look from Minerva, but also a Firewhisky and that was all he cared about.

"Want to tell me what's wrong?" Minerva asked.

For a moment, Severus had the childish urge to say no, just because he could, but he decided that was probably not the wisest choice. A pissed off Minerva was not something you wanted.

"The Year Meeting of the first years was today," Severus said, "and I can't help but wonder, when I look at them, how many will need my help. Of all of them, only two aren't connected to Death Eaters by family, and almost all of them have one or two Death Eater parents. I know how cruel they can be."

"True," Minerva said, "but they are the lucky ones, because they have you."

Severus stayed silent for a moment. He supposed she was right, but still, it wasn't enough, it wasn't nearly enough. He was sick and tired of seeing abused children lose the battle against darkness. No matter what he did, there were always children he couldn't save, not from their parents and not from themselves.

"Perhaps," was all he gave in reply.

"Who do you think are most at risk?" Minerva asked.

"Draco Malfoy is at the top of my list," Severus said. "You know Lucius Malfoy, you know how cruel he can be."

Minerva nodded.

"And Theodore Nott? As I recall, his family isn't one of the sweetest either," she said.

Severus sighed.

"No, they aren't."

That killed the conversation, but it was still more than an hour later when Severus left Minerva's rooms. There was something to be said for companionship.

Deciding that he might as well make his rounds now that he was out and about, he detoured towards the third corridor. Severus had vehemently protested against storing the Stone in the castle, especially with Harry Potter there, but Albus had ignored him. Now, as he was nearing the dratted corridor, he wondered if Albus wasn't using the double lure of the Stone and the boy as bait, to confirm his theory about the Dark Lord. It gave him an unsettling feeling, for in his mind, it was putting children at risk just to prove a point.

Just when he was about to turn a corner, he became aware of another presence. He turned just in time to see Quirinus walk around another corner, away from him. Seeing as though the man hadn't passed him, he must have doubled back upon seeing someone else already in the corridor. Severus decided to keep a close eye on Quirinus from now on. For a moment, he debated telling Albus, but knew that with so little evidence, Albus would just brush him aside, telling him he was paranoid. He was probably right. But still…

HPHPHPHPHP

The week passed by quickly, with the only remarkable thing that had Severus deviating from his routine the extra surveillance he put on Quirinus. Nothing had come out of that, yet. Before Severus knew it, it was Thursday and he was running late. Flying practice had begun ten minutes ago, and they would be right about ready to take their first flight. It was the perfect time to see who would be a good candidate for the Quidditch team. And indeed, all children were up in the air. Knowing he didn't have much time, he let his eye float over his Slytherins, quickly discarding several of them. Daphne Greengrass had some grace in the air, she might be a good Chaser. Draco Malfoy was fast and agile, he might make a good Seeker. Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle might make a good Beater team. Severus' eyes halted on Harry Potter. The boy was pure grace in the air. He could be good in both a Seeker and a Chaser position, but with his eyesight, Chaser was probably better. Although it would depend on his ability for teamwork. He stayed for another ten minutes, but had to leave for a meeting with Albus. Later, he would wish he'd stayed to the end.

HPHPHPHPHP

Severus had to contain his wish to roll his eyes. Fifteen minutes of inane babbling was a bit more than he could take.

"Albus, please, could you get to the point? There are more things I need to be doing today," Severus said.

Albus smiled, taking another sip of tea.

"Of course, my boy," Albus said. "I was just wondering how Harry was doing."

Severus looked at Albus. He was sure there was more behind this question, but he didn't know what.

"He's doing fine. His schoolwork is good, he might even have a talent in Potions, and he seems to be making friends, although he's a little shy," Severus said. "Not that that's surprising, considering he was Muggle-raised and nobody gave him any booklets."

"Muggle-raised, you said? Ah, I had expected his Aunt to tell him about the Wizarding World," Albus said. "And a talent in Potions, you say? I see he takes after his mother in that regard."

Severus wasn't sure if he believed Albus, but knew he wouldn't get anything out of the man either way. He smiled fondly at the remark about Lily.

"Yes, he does. I couldn't resist testing him that first day, and he showed me he has, at the very least, a keen interest in Potions. He answered all of my questions correctly. Of course, he shouldn't have been able to do that, not without reading ahead," Severus said, pride in his voice.

"Ah, who would know that Harry would win you over just by being interested in Potions," Albus said, amused.

Severus smiled. Yes, the boy had won him over, but he'd done that the moment he came into Severus's office that first night, shy, and more like his mother than his father.

"He's not only interested in Potions, he's good too. He and Draco Malfoy were the only ones in the class to make a perfect potion," Severus said.

"It could have been Draco's talent, I'm sure his father tutored him extensively in Potions," Albus remarked.

"Yes, I know," Severus said, nodding. "That's why I'm splitting them up next class, I want to see which one has the talent."

"Maybe they both do," Albus said.

"I can only hope. There aren't nearly enough Potions Masters nowadays," Severus said.

"Now, now," Albus said, "let's not get ahead of ourselves here, Severus. It could very well be that those boys don't want to become Potions Masters. No need to push them."

Severus felt uneasy at that remark. Surely Albus knew he would never push any one of his Snakes into doing something? He narrowed his eyes at Albus, who was still serenely sipping at his tea. Maybe he was being warned off, and if he was, it could only mean that Albus had his own plans for the boy. Severus recalled Minerva's words from two weeks ago, and his own promise.

"I would never force anyone to do something," Severus said.

If he hadn't been watching, Severus wouldn't have seen the slight relaxation in Albus's shoulders. So he was right, it had been a warning. Well, two could play that game. He might not push Harry Potter into doing anything, but neither would he let Albus. The man was fighting for the Greater Good, but that didn't mean Severus had to like, or condone, his methods.

"Well, my boy, now that we've discussed that, I will let you go about your business."

Taking the dismissal for what it was, Severus put his untouched cup of tea, no doubt spiked with calming potions and Merlin knew what else, down on the desk and left the Headmaster's office.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

"Leave your things in your bags," Severus said, as soon as he let the student in to his classroom, "for I will be assigning seats. These seats will be yours until I say otherwise. Now, Miss Bulstrode next to Mister Weasley, here. Behind them, Miss Greengrass and Mister Thomas, and at the back row, Miss Davis and Miss Patil. Here at the front, Mister Malfoy and Mister Goyle, behind them Mister Potter and Mister Longbottom, and then Mister Zabini and Miss Granger. The, here in the corner Mister Crabbe and Mister Finnigan, behind them Mister Nott and Miss Brown, and the last seats are for Miss Parkinson and Miss Perks."

Severus had to wait a few minutes before all the students had taken their seats and unpacked their things, but then he started them on a simple Cleaning Potion. Walking through the classroom, he could see that most pairings were pretty even. The bad were paired off with the very good, and the average students were also paired off with each other. Miss Granger seemed to have learned from the last time, as she was stirring much more controlledly this time. Draco Malfoy seemed to be holding his own against the ineptitude of Gregory Goyle, who was luckily good at following instructions as long as they weren't too complicated. It seemed the Malfoy boy had some talent, but Severus could see from his cutting that he was mostly a practiced student and not so much an intuitive student. He would get good grades, but wouldn't be able to cut it as a Potions Master. He had been right about Vincent Crabbe being average, as long as he wasn't paired with Gregory Goyle. And finally, he arrived at Harry Potter. A quick look inside the cauldron showed him that Harry had been able to keep Mister Longbottom from ruining the potion. Severus had seen some bad cases, but that boy could possibly be the worst potion maker he'd ever had the displeasure of teaching. But Harry, oh, he didn't only have his mother's talent at potions, no, he surpassed her. The boys movements were fluid, intuitive. Oh yes, there was a Potions Master in the making. And from the smile on the boy's face while he was doing his own work, while keeping an eye on both the potion and Mister Longbottom's work, the boy wouldn't even have to be pushed, no, he would choose Potions out of his own volition. Severus was sure of that. Finishing up his round through the classroom, Severus saw nothing else he didn't expect. It wasn't long after that that the lesson was over.

"Mister Potter and Mister Longbottom, your potion is perfect, Mister Malfoy and Mister Goyle, your potion is passable, as is the potion of Miss Granger and Mister Zabini. The rest of you are absolute failures, if you can't even follow simple instructions. Next time I tell you to study a potion beforehand, do so. Leave a vial of your potions on my desk, dismissed," Severus said.

Everybody obeyed immediately. Just as everyone was walking out of the classroom, Severus saw something that shocked him more than anything, but also gave him hope. Harry Potter walked out of the classroom together with Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy and the three of them were talking with each other.

HPHPHPHPHP

Severus let the first years into the Meeting Room as soon as he had ascertained everything was in order. Especially the spells would be needed tonight and nothing could go wrong. As soon as everyone had found a seat, Severus started the meeting.

"Well, welcome back everyone. There are a few things we will be discussing tonight, but before we do that, I want to tell you all something about this room," Severus started. "Because we sometimes talk about pretty personal things, I wanted to make sure everyone felt safe to share those things. Because of that, there are several secrecy spells up that make it impossible for anyone to talk about the things said in here, not even amongst each other, unless you are in this room."

Severus himself wasn't included in that spell, but the children didn't need to know that. He would have included himself were it not for the fact that he had to make sure he could call for help if the situation needed it. Not that he would ever betray a child's trust if it wasn't absolutely necessary.

"Also, in order for all of us to feel safe, there are truth spells active in this room."

Several of the children had a panicked look on their face at that revelation.

"But, they will not compel you to speak the truth, all they will do is prevent you from speaking a lie. If something you want to say is a lie, you can try to say it, but no sound will come out."

Severus paused for a while, knowing the children needed to process this.

"Professor," Daphne started.

"It's Severus in here," Severus interrupted her, knowing it was important that they saw him as a friend this evening.

"Right, ehm, Severus, why do we need those spells?" Daphne asked.

"We are going to need them, because we are getting personal tonight. We are each going to be telling our worst memory."

That produced a cacophony of sound. From everywhere, the protests came at him. But, Severus knew the ones who were quiet had a much harder time with that revelation. Draco and Theodore, but also Harry were very quiet.

"Please," Severus said, silencing everyone. "I understand that it is hard, which is why, just as last week, I will go first."

Severus took a deep breath, knowing that this year, it would be even harder to tell this story.

"My worst memory stems from my time as a Death Eater. When I was younger, I was foolish and believed in the lies the Dark Lord told me, so I joined him. It took me awhile to find out that he was lying, not to mention that all we were doing was more than just evil. When I found out, I turned spy for Albus Dumbledore, " Severus told, knowing the children needed that information, and also knowing the spells made it safe for them to know. "But, like I said, my worst memory is from the time I was still a believer. I was out on a mission for the Dark Lord, and my objective was information. I did indeed get information, and it was far more than I could have hoped. After telling it to the Dark Lord, he decided to act upon it. Unfortunately, that action was something neither I, nor anyone else, could have foreseen. He decided to kill a family. Among that family was one of my dearest friends. We had lost contact before I had joined the Death Eaters, but I still considered her my friend. She was killed, and to this day, I know that she was targeted because of a piece of information that I brought to the Dark Lord."

Never before had Severus been so glad that the spell didn't prompt him to reveal anything, like names. How could he explain to Harry that he was the reason his parents were dead? There was no explanation, and Severus knew it.

"Now," Severus said, "we will start with Millicent, just like last week. Please, tell us your worst memory."

"I," Millicent began, but didn't seem to be able to continue.

Severus gave her an encouraging nod.

"When I was five, I got a little kitten for my birthday. Three days later, my uncle came to visit us. He has a large dog, and one day, I caught the dog chasing Tibby, the kitten. I screamed at the dog, wanting him to leave the kitten alone. My uncle came in, screaming I had to stop making all that racked. I told him he should make his dog stop chasing my kitten. My uncle flew into a rage, because in his opinion, I had been rude to him. So he ordered his dog to kill Tibby," Millicent told them, a silent tear falling over her cheek. "I still don't let my cat out of my room when my uncle's there," she whispered.

Everyone was quiet, until Severus broke the silence.

"You do realize, I hope, that your uncle was wrong to do something like that, and that you are, in no way, responsible for what happened?"

Millicent looked up at Severus and nodded.

"Verbal, please, Millicent," Severus said, needing to hear her confirm it with the spell active.

"Yes, I know," Millicent said.

Severus nodded, satisfied., and relieved. Yes it was cruel, and yes it would forever be burned into her memory, but if that was her worst memory it meant she wasn't an abused child. Up next was Tracey.

"My worst memory is of when I was six. My mother had brought me to Diagon Alley for the first time. There were so many things to see that I wasn't paying attention to my mother, and I lost her in the crowd. I had never been on my own before, and I was so scared," Tracey said. "All that was so fun and exciting before was now scary, and all I wanted to do was find my mother. I wandered around, and accidentally ended up in Knockturn Alley. A hag was approaching me as my mother found me. I've never felt so happy to see my mother than at that moment. I still have the shivers every time I walk past Knockturn Alley."

"Very understandable," Severus said, happy that yet another child hadn't been abused. "Now, Daphne, I believe it is your turn."

"My worst memory is of getting lost too, but it was really my own fault. I was eight and I wanted a real broom, not such a childish broom that couldn't go past a certain speed. When my parents refused, I ran away. It was in the middle of December, and it had snowed. I was just inside the forest that borders our lands when it began to snow again. Two hours later, I couldn't see past my own feet, I was cold and lost. I thought I was going to die," Daphne said. "I don't even remember being found, and I was ill for over a week. I still don't like snow, I'd rather have a sunny summer's day."

Severus nodded, knowing that the next memory wouldn't be so easy, as it was now Draco's turn. The child was always pale, but he was so pale at the moment, Severus was afraid the poor boy would faint. Still, he knew that taking a break would only make it worse. The best thing was to just get over it.

"Draco," Severus said.

As Draco started his story, his hands were shaking, and his voice was monotone. This had Severus worried, and he vowed to find a way to help the child.

"I was five, and we had company. I accidentally broke a glass when we were having dinner. I knew I would get punished, and that's not good," Draco said. "After all the guest had left, my mother started to scream at me, she was so mad. I kept telling here I was sorry, but she wouldn't listen. My Dad tried to help, but she cast the Cruciatus at him, and then she cast it on me. It was the first time, and it hurt, it hurt so much. But it wasn't even the worst part, because I knew that my Dad had gotten hurt because I had done something wrong. I knew not to break anything, but I still did it."

Draco fell silent, and wrapped his arms around him. Severus was shocked, Lucius, his friend, wasn't the perpetrator, it was Narcissa. It made him wonder how much of Lucius' actions were directed by that bitch. But right now, he knew he had to comfort the child.

"Draco," Severus said, catching the boy's attention. "You do remember that your father loves you, and that that's exactly why he tried to help you. I know you think it is your fault, but I think that if you were to ask your father, he would say that there was nothing you did wrong."

"I know he'd say that, he did. When I've been punished, Dad always takes care of me in his office, and he holds me and we eat chocolate. That's nice. We do that too if Mother isn't at home," Draco said, smiling a bit.

Severus was glad Draco had fixated on a happier memory, just as he was glad it was Harry's turn now. It was sure to produce a much lighter memory, and all the children looked like they could use that.

"Harry, if you'd please," Severus prompted the boy.

Harry opened his mouth to start his own memory, but no sound came out. He tried again, but it didn't work. Severus frowned, the boy should know by now that there were much worse memories than whatever his memory was.

"Don't try and deceive the spell, Harry," Severus said, trying to keep the disapproval out of his voice, "it's no use."

"But I don't understand, that is my worst memory, I wouldn't know what memory would be the worst otherwise," Harry said, clearly confused.

"What were you trying to tell?" Severus asked, curious now.

"What I remember of my parents' death," Harry answered.

Severus had to keep a startled gasp from escaping, but several of the others did gasp.

"You remember that?" Severus asked, admiring himself for sounding so casual.

Harry nodded.

"Why don't you think for a moment, perhaps you will know why the spell thinks it's a lie," Severus said.

Harry looked down at his feet, and everyone watched him thinking it over. Severus knew the boy had found the right memory when he looked up with haunted eyes, but even he couldn't have predicted the words that came out of Harry's mouth.

"I killed someone."

A/N: thanks to my fantastic beta Logical Quirk


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

A/N: I'm currently having back problems, so that means that I can't sit at a computer for very long. This means that updates to my stories will be slower than usual, because I can't write them for very long.

5. A Murder's Tale

Harry was lounging on his bed. He knew he should probably be doing some homework, but seeing as it was Saturday evening and there was only an hour before the second Year Meeting would begin, he wasn't feeling particularly inclined to get up. He hoped this week's Year Meeting would be just as fun as last week's, where they'd gotten to know one another. Harry gave a contented sigh. While his first week at Hogwarts may have been horrible, his second week had gone much better. His smile grew bigger as he thought about the fact that one of his mission seemed to be accomplished: he'd managed to make friends with Hermione again. Harry's mind drifted back to Tuesday, where he'd reacquainted himself with his best friend, in the library of all places.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Harry walked into the library only to be met with the sight of Hermione, sitting at a table, books spread out all around her. The sight was so familiar, it made Harry smile. Curious to see what she was working on, he walked closer to her table. He was surprised to see that all of the books were about the potion they'd made last Friday. Surely she knew that potion already? Inching closer, he listened to her murmuring to herself.

"It was perfect, I know it was. There's nothing in here I did wrong. He's just unfair."

Suddenly Harry understood what she was doing. She was trying to figure out why Snape had not given her a full grade for her potion. Seeing his chance, Harry hesitated for only a moment.

"You stirred too quickly," Harry said, causing Hermione to twist around in her seat.

"What do you mean?" she said, frowning.

Harry was relieved she didn't sound angry or disgusted in any way. He sat down beside her and pointed to a passage in one of the books.

"You stirred too quickly here, which makes the nettles dissolve too quick. That way, they can't bind to the base. It's a common mistake, and although it doesn't make the potion unusable, it's slightly less potent than it could be," Harry explained.

That was the start of a long conversation about potions and, Harry hoped, the start of a long friendship.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Harry grinned; yes, that had been a good day. Not as good as Thursday though. He hadn't been on a broom for pleasure since his fifth year, and it had felt very good. Poor Neville had fallen again though, but he'd kept Draco occupied, so there was no repeat of the incident that made him a Seeker the first time around. If, and being in the same House as Draco made it a big if, he made it Seeker, he wanted it done the normal way, in a try-out. But flying hadn't even been the best part of that flying lesson. No, the true miracle came when Madam Hooch was pre-occupied with Dean Thomas, who'd apparently forgotten the instructions about making a corner.

HPHPHPHPHP

A sudden scream made Harry's heart stop, and for a moment he thought he was back on the battlefield again. But, calming his heart rate down, he saw that while it had been Hermione who'd screamed, they weren't under attack. No, Hermione had somehow slipped of her broom, and was now hanging on with all her might with her hands on the tail-end of the broom. Harry wouldn't question how she'd managed that feat so high up in the air until much later. At that time, he was only concerned with trying to save her, as Madam Hooch was too far away to notice or hear Hermione's screaming.

"Grab my hand," Harry said, after flying up to her level.

Hermione did just that, letting go of her broom, and grabbing his hand with both of hers. Scared brown eyes looked into Harry's when Harry's broom began to tilt. He'd forgotten, once again, that he was only eleven and his strength wasn't enough to keep hold of Hermione. He could feel her begin to slip, when suddenly, another broom hovered near her.

"Grab my hand with one of yours," Draco commanded Hermione, who listened without asking questions for once.

That's how they brought her down to the ground, suspended between them, a worried Madam Hooch hovering nearby, finally having seen the trouble they were in. That's how the most unlikely of friendship began, between Hermione Granger, Muggleborn, and Draco Malfoy, Pureblood heir.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

"Hey, Harry, you coming?"

Harry looked up, surprised to see Theodore standing in the dorm.

"Is it time already?" he asked, surprised at how fast the hour had gone by.

Theodore nodded, and Harry followed him to the Meeting Room. Once inside, he seated himself in the same place as the last time. It seemed that everyone had taken the same seat as last time. Harry grinned; it reminded him a bit of the assigned seats in Potions. Snape started the meeting.

"Well, welcome back everyone. There are a few things we will be discussing tonight, but before we do that, I want to tell you all something about this room. Because we sometimes talk about pretty personal things, I wanted to make sure everyone felt safe to share those things. Because of that, there are several secrecy spells up that make it impossible for anyone to talk about the things said in here, not even amongst each other, unless you are in this room."

Harry felt a little uneasy. He began to suspect that this meeting wasn't going to be a fun-filled one. Doing a survey of the room, he noticed that everybody's favorite snacks were there, as well as a large variety in drinks. Yes, Harry was definitely feeling uneasy. The next thing Snape said cinched it.

"Also, in order for all of us to feel safe, there are truth spells active in this room."

Oh dear Merlin, how glad he was now for Hermione's safeguards. It was a good thing he couldn't disclose anything about the future, even under a truth spell. Still, there was much he didn't want to tell.

"But, they will not compel you to speak the truth, all they will do is prevent you from speaking a lie. If something you want to say is a lie, you can try to say it, but no sound will come out," Snape continued.

Well, that made Harry feel marginally better. Still, he didn't feel very comfortable.

"Professor," Daphne started to say something, but clearly lost her nerve.

"It's Severus in here," Snape interrupted her.

"Right, ehm, Severus, why do we need those spells?" Daphne asked, uncomfortable.

"We are going to need them because we are getting personal tonight. We are each going to be telling our worst memory," Snape answered.

Harry felt severely unsettled by that news. He didn't want to relive his parents' deaths once again, but he knew he wouldn't be able to circumvent it. There was no way that Snape would allow it.

"Please," Snape said, silencing everyone. "I understand that it is hard, which is why, just as last week, I will go first. My worst memory stems from my time as a Death Eater. When I was younger, I was foolish and believed in the lies the Dark Lord told me, so I joined him. It took me a while to find out that he was lying, not to mention that all we were doing was more than just evil. When I found out, I turned spy for Albus Dumbledore, " Severus told, knowing the children needed that information, and also knowing the spells made it safe for them to know. "But, like I said, my worst memory is from the time I was still a believer. I was out on a mission for the Dark Lord, and my objective was information. I did indeed get information, and it was far more than I could have hoped. After telling it to the Dark Lord, he decided to act upon it. Unfortunately, that action was something neither I, nor anyone else, could have foreseen. He decided to kill a family. Among that family was one of my dearest friends. We had lost contact before I had joined the Death Eaters, but I still considered her my friend. She was killed, and to this day, I know that she was targeted because of a piece of information that I brought to the Dark Lord."

Harry felt a bit sick. He knew that Snape had to have seen much worse things, but he understood it was a much harder thing to know your actions had caused a friend harm. He was glad when Severus asked Millicent to share her worst memory, because it meant he could focus on something else. Millicent told about her uncle killing her cat. Harry figured that the uncle was either a Death Eater or a real bastard, then decided it was probably both. Tracey and Daphne had relatively mild worst memories, both of getting lost. Harry decided they were lucky if that was their worst memory, and even more lucky if those memories continued to be their worst memory throughout their lives.

Up next was Draco. Harry sarcastically thought his worst memory was probably about not getting what he asked for. But then, he looked at Draco, who was pale and shaking slightly, and he remembered that Draco was the child of Lucius Malfoy, one of the top Death Eaters. Maybe Draco's home life wasn't as good as it looked from the outside.

"I was five, and we had company. I accidentally broke a glass when we were having dinner. I knew I would get punished, and that's not good," Draco said. "After all the guest had left, my mother started to scream at me, she was so mad. I kept telling here I was sorry, but she wouldn't listen. My Dad tried to help, but she cast the Cruciatus at him, and then she cast it on me. It was the first time, and it hurt, it hurt so much. But it wasn't even the worst part, because I knew that my Dad had got hurt because I had done something wrong. I knew not to break anything, but I still did it."

Everybody was silent after Draco told his tale. Harry reeled from the discovery that Narcissa Malfoy, who he'd thought to be spoiled but normal, was just as sick and twisted as Bellatrix. Who knew Lucius Malfoy was decent enough to stand up for his son. Draco had, in the meantime, wrapped his arms around himself. Harry wanted to say something to him, but had no clue what. Luckily, Snape did.

"Draco, you do remember that your father loves you, and that that's exactly why he tried to help you. I know you think it is your fault, but I think that if you were to ask your father, he would say that there was nothing you did wrong," Snape said.

"I know he'd say that, he did. When I've been punished, Dad always takes care of me in his office, and he holds me and we eat chocolate. That's nice. We do that too if Mother isn't at home," Draco said, smiling a bit.

So that's why his favorite snack is those fancy chocolates, Harry thought. He also knew it was going to be his own turn now. The truth spell wouldn't affect the information and memories he had of the future, so he only had to determine which memory of his birth until his now was the worst. He didn't have to think long, it was an easy choice.

"Harry, if you'd please," Snape said.

Harry opened his mouth to tell about the night his parents died, but no sound came out. Taking a deep breath, and reminding himself that no-one would be able to tell, he tried again, to no avail.

"Don't try and deceive the spell, Harry," Snape said, remarkably neutrally, "it's no use."

Harry was confused; he didn't understand why the spell wouldn't let him tell that memory as his worst one.

"But I don't understand, that is my worst memory, I wouldn't know what memory would be the worst otherwise," Harry said.

"What were you trying to tell?" Snape asked.

"What I remember of my parents' deaths," Harry answered.

Several people gasped.

"You remember that?" Snape asked.

Harry nodded.

"Why don't you think for a moment, perhaps you will know why the spell thinks it's a lie," Severus said.

Harry looked down at his feet, thinking it over. Suddenly, he knew what was worse, and he looked up at Snape.

"I killed someone," Harry said.

"Tell us what happened, Harry," Snape said softly, while everyone else was very quiet.

"I was six, and we had a new teacher, Mister Bradbury. He was nice, he always asked me questions and gave me compliments. Then, he started keeping me behind in the break, asking me about bruises I had, or sometimes he asked things about my clothes and stuff. At first I didn't trust him, but eventually, I told him the truth, even though Uncle Vernon always threatened me about telling the truth," Harry said.

"Go on," Snape prompted, when Harry fell silent.

"A few days after I'd told the truth, we had a different teacher. She wouldn't tell us what had happened to Mister Bradbury, but there were rumours, and we found out anyway. He'd been arrested, for sexual assault on Dudley, my cousin. When I got home, Uncle Vernon beat me and then he locked me in the cupboard, telling me I'd been stupid to tell the truth to a teacher, because look at what had happened. Two days later we heard that Mister Bradbury had hung himself in prison. It was my fault, I shouldn't have told him anything. If I hadn't, he would still be alive," Harry said.

Harry pulled his knees up, and started to cry. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten about Mister Bradbury, after what he'd done to the man. He started when someone laid a hand on his knee. He looked up, and saw it was Snape.

"Harry, listen to me very carefully. You did nothing wrong, do you hear me? You aunt and uncle were wrong, but you weren't, all right?" Snape said.

Harry nodded, drying his tears.

"Harry, verbally, please," Snape said.

Harry opened his mouth to say yes, but no sound would come out. He knew that wouldn't happen, because it had been his fault. Fortunately, it seemed Snape would let it rest, as he returned to his own seat with a sigh.

The rest of the night proved to be just as difficult as the first half of the meeting. Vincent and Gregory had relatively normal worst memories, but Blaise had seen his mother murder his father when he was four. Theodore told about the time he almost died because his cutting had gone too far and he'd accidentally slit his wrists, and that had been when he was seven. He admitted to Snape that he was still cutting, and Snape's look promised a long private talk for the boy. Pansy's worst memory was of being told about the marriage contract her parents had set up for her. She was to get married right out of Hogwarts with a fifty-five year old man. Well, he was fifty-five now, so he would be sixty-two when she married him. Her parents had told her she was too ugly and stupid to find a husband of her own.

All in all, Harry thought this Year Meeting was a lousy end to a good week.

HPHPHPHPHP

The next week proved to be as bothersome as the Year Meeting. Harry had tried to get information about the Marauders from Hagrid, but Hagrid hadn't mentioned them at all. Asking Dumbledore, Binns and Filch had been ruled out, as well as Pince and Pomfrey, as Harry didn't want anything to do with either lady unless he really had to. He'd tried Professor Sprout, but all she'd said was that his parents had been average in her classes and had seemed very much in love, then she'd started about a new sapling she'd acquired recently. Professor Flitwick was a little more help, as he had told Harry a bit about his mother, like the fact that she had planned to take a Mastery in Charms, but the war had put an end to those plans.

Still, Harry was no further at the end of the week than at the beginning, and it was starting to look like he would have to go without Sirius until third year. But then, Friday night, when he was lying in bed, he suddenly remembered that Snape had gone to school with his parents. Snape surely knew about the Marauders, as they had harassed him endlessly. And didn't Snape have Slytherin office hours the next morning? Harry wasn't too hopeful about getting answers out of Snape, considering his feelings for Harry's parents, but Harry decided it was worth a shot.

The next morning, Harry stood in Snape's office.

"Ah, Harry, come on through," Snape said, and let him through a hidden door into a small, but cosy room.

There was a low table and several comfortable chairs. Severus pointed at one of them, and took a seat opposite of Harry's. Harry looked around curious. No wonder the Slytherins never minded going to Snape, they didn't have to stare at all of the weird things in his office.

"What did you want to talk to me about, Harry?" Snape asked.

Harry had prepared a whole speech about knowing so little about his parents, and hoping Snape would know something since he had to have been at Hogwarts with them, and would he please tell Harry something about them. Harry had practiced it this morning in front of the mirror a few times, in hopes he could deliver his question in such a way that Snape wouldn't get angry and refuse to talk, since Snape really was the last person he could turn to. But, now, here, with Snape, the speech went out the window and Harry just blurted out his question.

"Can you tell me about my parents?"

A/N: thanks to my fantastic beta Logical Quirk


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

A/N: I'm still ill, so that means that up-dates will be slower than usual.

6. When Past Meets Present

At the beginning of the school year, Severus had predicted that it would be a lousy year. They were now three weeks into the school year, and his prediction was already ringing true, albeit for different reasons than he had thought. Three high risk children and two moderate risk children on in a group of ten was a lot. Not to mention that Draco's story had Severus questioning all he had thought about his once-friend Lucius. Thankfully, only Theodore was at immediate risk, so Severus had spend spent almost every evening working with him on overcoming his problems. They were making slow progress, but at least there was progress.

Severus looked at his clock. It was almost ten, time to move to his office. It was still the beginning of the year, and most problems had been talked about in the Year Meetings, so it was unlikely he would have many visitors, if any. Taking a large stack of papers he still had to grade, Severus settled in his office. He didn't get very far before he was interrupted by a knock on the door, after which it opened. Severus looked up, and saw Harry Potter standing in the door opening, clearly nervous.

"Ah, Harry, come on through," Severus said, leading Harry to his ante-chamber which he only used with his Slytherins.

Taking a seat opposite to Harry, Severus asked him what he had come to talk about. He hoped Harry had sought him out to talk about his home life, or what happened last Saturday, but somehow he doubted it.

"Can you tell me about my parents?" Harry asked.

Severus eased back into his chair, taken by surprise. It was an unusual question; was it perhaps meant to hide the real reason of this visit?

"I am not sure I am the right person to ask that," Severus said. "I was in their year, but they were in Gryffindor. Perhaps you could ask professor McGonagall, I'm sure she can tell you what you want to know."

Harry sighed and tugged on the hem of his sleeve, clearly a nervous gesture.

"Please, Sir, don't be mad," Harry said softly, "but I've tried that, and all they do is tell me the same stuff over and over. They say my father was on the Quidditch team and good at Transfigurations, and that I have my mother's eyes, and she was kind, in love with my father, and good at Charms. That's all they ever tell me! I don't even know how my parents look, although I can imagine my father, as I'm said to look like him. I mean, I don't know what they liked to eat, or their favorite music. Who were their friends? Did my Mum go to Quidditch games? What did she look like? I don't know anything, and when I try to ask those things, they push me out the door!"

Severus watched as Harry stopped shouting, flushed, and then seemed to shrink in on himself. He was very curious as to whom those people were that refused to answer questions. It was also quite disconcerting that Harry didn't know anything about Lily, even though he lived with her sister. It was quite telling. Making a rash decision, Severus told Harry to stay put, and quickly walked into his quarters. There, in a locked box in his dresser, was a stack of photographs. He took them out, and after some consideration, he also took out the letters. He then returned to Harry, and sat next to him, instead of opposite.

"This, Harry, is your mother when she was eight," Severus said, as he handed Harry a picture.

Harry looked at it, transfixed. After a while, Severus passed another picture, and another, telling Harry about his mother at the different ages, until she turned sixteen.

"I'm afraid I don't have any more pictures of her, as we drifted apart when she started to hang out with your father. Your father and I didn't get along very well, and I got along even worse with his friends," Severus said.

"I never knew you were friends with her, and you knew her before she went to Hogwarts… Did you live in the same neighborhood?" Harry asked.

Severus nodded.

"Who were my father's friends?" Harry asked.

Severus swallowed. He didn't know if he should be telling this, but then decided that everyone could go to hell, Harry would find out one way or another, and it was better if he found out in a controlled environment.

"Well, there was Peter Pettigrew, but he didn't survive the war, and there was Sirius Black. He was from a Dark family, and eventually betrayed your parents and became a Death Eater. He's in Azkaban now, the wizarding prison. And there was Remus Lupin. He was the quietest of the bunch, and later I found out why. He's a werewolf. They are not very dangerous nowadays, at least, most of them aren't, because of Wolfsbane. That's a potion that lets them keep their mind. But in those days, werewolves were very dangerous, which is why he was ordered to stay away from you. Werewolves are still thought of as dangerous creatures, so that order was never revoked," Severus said.

Harry looked thoughtful.

"He can't come near me, but can I still write to him about my Dad?" Harry asked.

Severus thought for a moment. He'd not been there when the exact order was given, but he'd heard all about it from Albus. If he remembered correctly, there was nothing stopping Harry from writing, and as long as Harry sought the first contact, Remus was free to write back.

"Yes, you can," Severus said.

Harry lapsed into silence. Severus looked at the bundle in his lap. It was hard, parting with them, but he knew Harry deserved those letters more than he did.

"You can keep the pictures, I have other copies. Now, there's one more thing I want you to have," Severus said, handing the bundle over to Harry. "They are all the letters your mother wrote to me, she wrote at least one every two days in every summer holiday. You should be able to get to know your mother through those letters."

Harry stared at the bundle of letters reverently.

"Thank you, Professor," he said.

Severus smiled, feeling a bit lighter in his soul, as if Lily had said 'I forgive you'.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Minerva, what would you do if you thought a very dear friend had betrayed you years ago, and then find out he might not have?" Severus asked.

Minerva looked over the rim of her teacup at him. Severus fought the urge to squirm in his seat. Even though he had been her equal for many years now, she could still make him feel like a schoolboy with that look of hers.

"You know, Severus, for once I would like to have a normal tea-hour with you. It's the same story every week, or rather, it's a different one, and none of them are very pleasant. If you are so determined to liven things up, then tell me something fun, like Sybill's quitting her job, or that you're dating someone. But no, you just have to spread the gloom and doom," Minerva said, exasperated.

Severus grinned.

"Well, I do try," he answered.

Minerva chuckled, then grew serious again.

"I think that you should give this friend of yours a chance to prove his innocence. Clearly you believe that he hasn't betrayed you, or you wouldn't be sitting here telling me. Give him a chance, let him explain, then make up your mind," she said.

Severus pondered this for a moment. He would have to be very careful, but it might be done. He'd have to think of an excuse, but that wouldn't be a big problem. Budget meetings were coming up, so that might be ample excuse.

"You're right, and I think I'll do that," Severus answered. "Now, I can't tell you Sybill's quitting her job, unfortunately, but have you heard what Fang did to Rolanda's broom?"

Minerva grinned, and poured him another cup of tea.

"No, I haven't, please, do tell," she said.

HPHPHPHPHP

Lucius stepped out of Severus's private fireplace, clearing off the soot with a casual flick of his wand.

"Well, Severus, I must say I was surprised to get your invitation. Surely you're not afraid I would allow the Board to cut your Potions budget?"

Severus hummed non- committally, and offered Lucius a seat. After pouring both Lucius and himself a Firewhiskey he seated himself opposite his friend.

"Well, rumor has it that the budget cuts this year are going to be worse than ever," Severus said. "I just wanted to be sure that there would be no problems."

Lucius shook his head, and took a sip of his drink. Severus leaned forward a bit, closely observing Lucius.

"So, now that business is out of the way, how's Narcissa? She doing all right with Draco being away from home?" Severus asked.

Had he not been looking for it, Severus would have missed the almost imperceptible flinch at the mention of Narcissa, and the flash of relief when he mentioned Draco being away from her.

"She's doing well, considering she misses Draco," Lucius said.

"Oh yes, I imagine she missed her favorite target practices," Severus said.

Lucius almost choked on his Firewhiskey.

"Excuse me?" he said.

"Or are you her favorite target?" Severus said, as if he hadn't paused. "Maybe that's why you're risked everything, joining the Dark Lord."

"Severus…" Lucius said.

"No Lucius," Severus interrupted. "Don't try to ship me of with some lame excuse. She's torturing Draco, and likely torturing you! You should have come to me, if not about yourself, then about Draco."

Lucius slumped down in his seat, refusing to meet Severus's eyes.

"And why would you help? I've brought you nothing but misery," Lucius said softly.

"Do you honestly believe that I would have rejected a plea for help? Do you honestly think that I would stand by and do nothing while that woman abuses you?"

"Maybe you would have tried to help, but where would it have lead? Not far, because all normal options are out. We're both branded Death Eaters. If I went to the authorities, she would just expose me," Lucius said. "All I can do is protect Draco to the best of my abilities, and hope and pray that he will make it out of her clutches someday."

"There might be other options," Severus said.

Lucius looked up, his face contemptuous.

"Like what?" he said scornfully. "Kill her? She's smarter than that, she's got safeguards in place."

"Hmm, tempting, but not what I had in mind," Severus said. "But if this is to work, I need to ask you some tough questions, and you need to be completely honest with me."

"I'll do whatever it takes," Lucius answered.

"Was it your idea or hers to join the Dark Lord?" Severus asked.

"Hers. I might agree with some of what he stands for, Mudbloods really are destroying Wizarding society, but I don't agree with his methods. Killing them all won't work, and frankly, he just kills everyone who crossed his path. If he'd continued, he would've wiped us out of existence. Besides, why would I risk the Malfoy family name, fortune, and my own life, to serve another?"

"That's what I was hoping for. Now, all we need to do is get the help of someone who will quite willingly give it, and we're all set," Severus said. "Here's what we're going to do…"

HPHPHPHPHPHP

"Severus," Minerva called out.

Severus stopped, and turned around.

"We need to talk," Minerva said, as soon as she reached him.

Severus nodded, and followed her to her office. Taking a seat, he watched her pace back and forth. He was curious to know what had agitated the normally stoic woman so much. But he knew better than to ask; she would talk when she was ready.

"How is Harry doing in classes?" she asked him.

"He's doing quite well, his grades are good, and he spends a lot of time in the library," Severus said.

"Did you consider giving him some extra work?" Minerva asked.

"Yes," Severus answered, not liking where this conversation was going. "Did you?"

Minerva sighed and sank down in her chair.

"Yes, I mentioned it to Albus, but he practically forbade me. I did manage to get his permission to give extra work to Harry, but only if he comes to me to ask for it," Minerva said. "Like that's going to happen, he's a child, the more free time he has the better in his opinion."

"Hmm, and here I was thinking it was just me who got that warning," Severus answered. "And all I did was say that Harry probably had the talent to become a Potions Master, I never even mentioned extra work."

"Sometimes, I wonder what Albus is thinking! It seems as if every decision he makes concerning Harry is to the detriment of that poor boy. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Albus doesn't care about him at all," Minerva said. "Did you know that Hagrid had to be the one to tell him how his parents died? The poor boy thought they'd died in a car crash because his father was drunk! It's despicable."

Severus lurched forward in his chair.

"Did you just say that Harry only learned of his parent's murders this summer?" he asked intently.

"Yes," Minerva answered.

Severus swore. Minerva looked at him disapprovingly, but didn't berate him as usual.

"Do you know what that means?" Severus asked her, but continued without waiting for an answer. "That means that he has never properly grieved for his parents, and that means that come Halloween, he'll get the full blow. While everyone is partying, he will be thinking about his parents and all of this new information. I need to keep an extra eye on him, and I didn't even know it!"

"Oh my, I hadn't even thought of that," Minerva answered.

"Tell me everything you know about Harry, Minerva, for it seems I am missing too much

information," Severus said.

"Well, as you know, Hagrid picked Harry up that night, and brought him to Albus on Sirius's motorcycle. I'd observed those Muggles all day in my Animagus form, and I told Albus they were the worst kind, but he didn't listen. He left Harry on their doorstep, with a letter," Minerva said.

Severus gasped in shock. Leaving a baby on a doorstep in the middle of winter, with only a letter to explain what happened. It seemed like Albus hadn't even checked if they wanted the baby, and if he had, he didn't care. That last option was the most frightening.

"When we sent his Hogwarts letter, it didn't arrive. Or better said, it did, but Harry never saw it. We sent many letters, but they still didn't get read by Harry. So in the end, we decided to send Hagrid to retrieve the boy. He got there just after midnight on Harry's birthday. He took Harry with him to Diagon Alley, they did their shopping, and then he dropped Harry of again. Hagrid told Harry about being a wizard, and about his parents."

Severus rubbed his temples to stem of a headache.

"So, you knew that the Muggles clearly didn't want Harry to even know about his wizarding heritage, and yet you send him back to their house? What were you thinking, Minerva," Severus said.

"I didn't think it would be such a big deal. Yes, they are unpleasant, yes, Harry would have been better off being raised in a wizard-friendly environment. But they are his family, and now that he knows, there's no need for secrecy anymore. Relationships in that house can only improve now," Minerva said, slightly peeved.

"On the contrary, Minerva, on the contrary," Severus said.

Then, he pressed his lips together. He wanted to tell Minerva how very wrong she was about those Muggles, but he couldn't do so without breaking Harry's confidences. And since he hadn't had the time yet to talk to him, he wouldn't involve anyone else yet. Deciding it was best to leave, before he either said something he shouldn't, or throttled Minerva for her ignorance and naivety, he stood up.

"Thank you for the information, now if you will excuse me, I need to brew some more anti-nausea potions for Poppy. Friday will be here in no time, and I doubt the children have learned to eat in moderation," Severus said.

"Now, Severus, you can't expect children to eat in moderation with such a lush Halloween feast, and you know how the house-elves are, always making everybody's favorites," Minerva said.

Severus sighed, he was glad she had dropped the topic of Harry's guardians. She must have sensed something, for normally she would have pursued the topic. Perhaps she was doubting Albus' decision more than she let on.

"Yes, they certainly enjoy Halloween just as much as the children," Severus said.

Bidding her his goodbyes, Severus walked back to his own quarters. While brewing the requested potions for Poppy, he let his mind wander over his first year students. Theodore was doing better, not good, but better. They met twice a week now, and whenever Theodore felt the need to. He seemed to be doing well, but Severus knew that was only appearance. A letter from home or a bad grade still had him grabbing for his knife. Draco was still skittish around him; he had been ever since his confession. Severus had given him space. There wouldn't be a new Year Meeting until after Christmas holidays, so that had reassured the boy a bit. But Severus knew he had to talk with Draco before the Christmas holidays, as there was no way Narcissa would allow Draco to stay at Hogwarts. He also hadn't talked to Harry about his home life yet. Perhaps just after Halloween would be a good time, that gave him the chance to talk to Harry about whatever reactions he would have on Halloween too. Yes, after Halloween he would start talks with Harry, and he would start talks with Draco in November. That would give him plenty of time. Satisfied with his plans, he concentrated on his potions again, starting up another cauldron.

A/N: thanks to my fantastic beta Logical Quirk


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

7. Halloween Mayhem

Harry walked out of his meeting with Snape in a daze. He'd got the information he was looking for, and so much more. He now didn't only know about the Marauders, albeit not about that particular name, but he also had an answer to a question he'd had since his third year. He never understood why Remus didn't approach him, even when he was at Hogwarts. Well, now Harry knew, and he didn't like it one bit. It was cruel on Remus, and on him, but that was the Ministry for you. But what had most astonished him was that Snape and his mother had been friends. And now he held a packet of letters his mother had written. It was the first thing ever that he owned that belonged to his mother, and it felt very good.

Entering the common room, he walked right into Pansy, who grabbed him to steady herself. She looked him over, then asked if he was all right.

"Yeah, I am. It's just that… Snape just gave me some letters that my mother wrote. It's the only thing I have that belonged to her, you know," Harry said.

Pansy smiled.

"Yeah, I can imagine. Do you want me to keep the boys out of the dorm for an hour or two?" she asked.

Harry looked at her, and not for the first time he wondered how he could have been so blind. All he'd ever seen was nasty Slytherins, just because the first few people he'd met in the wizarding world had told him they would be.

"That would be great, thanks," he said.

For the next hour and a half, Harry immersed himself in his mother's letters. She talked about everything, and he learned a great deal about her and his grandparents, and even about Snape. He felt close to his mother, and silently thanked Hermione for giving him this gift, even though it wasn't planned. A small knock on the door drew his attention away from the letter he was currently reading.

"You coming to lunch, or do you want us to bring you something?" Vincent asked.

Harry put away the letter.

"I'm coming," he said.

Vincent nodded, and waited for Harry to put the letters in his trunk. Together they walked to the Great Hall. Most of the first years were already there, as they usually ate together. However, Draco was sitting a few seats away from everybody. Harry had noticed that Draco had withdrawn from people ever since the last Year Meeting, but he had hoped that Draco would bounce back after a period of time to himself. Apparently though, that wasn't the case. In fact, it seemed to be getting worse. Harry motioned for Vincent to go on without him while he made his way to where Draco was sitting. It was time to step in.

"Hey Draco, guess what I found out yesterday?" Harry said as soon as he sat down.

Draco looked up at him warily, like a skittish colt.

"Hermione had her birthday last Thursday! So I was thinking, maybe we could do something for her birthday today. You know, get some food and some drinks, and have a private party or something," Harry said.

"But we don't have gifts," Draco said.

Harry smiled; it seemed his fast-thought-of plan was working.

"Well, either we find something we already own, or we get her a self-made gift certificate, telling her what we are going to buy for her, or something like that," Harry said.

Draco looked thoughtful.

"You know, I think I know a gift. Pansy has been eying my chocolate stash for a while now. I'm sure I can trade it for one of her books with beauty spells in it. I mean, Hermione is smart and all, but she could look so much better if she put the effort in it. And since it's a book, she'll not think twice about it. I hope," Draco said.

"Now that you mention that, I think I know something to give to her too. All right, you know that old classroom two doors away from the Charms classroom?" Harry said. "How about we meet there in an hour. That'll give me time to get the food up there and decorate, and you time to barter with Pansy and get Hermione out of the library."

"Deal," Draco answered.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Harry looked around at the abandoned classroom. A couple of cleaning spells, and some decorating spells had really spruced the place up. There were some pillows on the ground, colorful streamers from wall to wall, some balloons, and a sign saying 'Happy Birthday Hermione'. The house-elves had provided plenty of food and drinks, and had even managed to make a small birthday cake complete with candles in the half-hour Harry had waited for them to finish. Just then, he heard voices in the hallway.

"Draco, what exactly is this emergency that you had to have my help with?" Hermione said.

"You'll see in a minute, it's just in here," Draco said.

The door opened, and Hermione walked in. Harry grinned at her, while she stood stock-still in the door opening. Slowly, she walked inside.

"How… Why…" she stammered.

"Well, it was your birthday last Thursday, which you could have told us, you know," Draco said. "So that's why. How Harry found out, I don't know."

Hermione sat down on one of the pillows, as did both of the boys. She looked at Harry.

"Well, I have my ways," Harry said mysteriously, hoping Hermione would provide her own answer, as she so often had done in the past.

"Oh, you, you must have seen it on my planner," Hermione laughed.

Harry laughed with her, glad Hermione had once again come through for him, even if she didn't know it herself.

"Well, no party without gifts," Draco said, pushing his gift towards Hermione.

Hermione accepted it, and after unwrapping it gasped.

"Oh, this is like the most comprehensible guide on beauty charms there is," Hermione said. "Thank you so much, Draco."

Draco just smiled.

"I've got a gift too, but I don't know if you want it. I mean, I don't want to seem rude or anything," Harry said, "but I've noticed that your front teeth are a bit large. And, I came across this spell that would shrink them, to any length you wish. I can cast it for you, if you want me too that is."

"Really?" Hermione said. "That would be great. My parents don't want me to fix it with magic, they're dentists, but I can always say it was an accident or something. If they even ask."

"All right, I brought a mirror. Just look into it while I cast the spell and tell me when to cancel it," Harry said.

A few minutes later, a very happy Hermione started cutting her birthday cake. Her wide smile displayed perfect teeth, and Harry felt happy he'd given his friend something he knew she would like. The rest of the afternoon was filled with fun and laughter, and the three friends grew a little closer over the experience

HPHPHPHPHP

Harry woke early on the morning of Halloween. He breathed in deeply, then got up out of bed. Today, he had only one mission: keeping Hermione out of the way of the troll that Quirrell would release in the school. That meant keeping her well away of Ron, so she wouldn't get upset. Considering that they shared classes with him, that would be harder than it sounded.

"Merlin, Harry, what are you doing up so early," Draco said, as Harry entered the common room.

Harry smiled. He, unlike Draco, wasn't known for getting up early. But, he'd counted on his behavior seeming erratic today, and had the perfect excuse for it.

"It's Halloween today, and my parents…" Harry said.

Draco got a sympathetic look on his face.

"I get it," Draco said. "Want to go to breakfast?"

"Yeah, lets," Harry answered, and the two boys walked out of the common room.

Once they reached the Great Hall, Harry saw Hermione sitting at the Gryffindor table, alone. Not many students were up yet, and a small plan began to form in Harry's mind. He hadn't counted upon the opportunity to bring the houses closer together so soon, but since it was there…

"Hey, Draco, let's sit with Hermione," Harry said.

He proceeded to walk towards the Gryffindor table without giving Draco time to answer. He sat down opposite Hermione, who looked at him with surprise.

"Morning, Hermione, mind if Draco and I have breakfast with you?" Harry asked cheerfully.

Hermione just nodded, as Harry had seemingly stunned her into silence. Draco dropped down beside Harry.

"Do you have any idea how many rules we are breaking right now?" Draco asked.

"Actually, there isn't a rule forbidding students from sitting at a different table than their house table," Hermione said.

"See Draco, nothing to worry about," Harry said.

Draco just glowered at Harry, who just passed him the bacon. Draco started eating, and after a few minutes, even joined in the conversation with Hermione. Harry smiled; perhaps saving the Slytherins from going Dark wasn't as hard as he had imagined.

HPHPHPHPHP

During lunch, Hermione sat at the Slytherin table, at Harry's insistence. Some upper years had looked cross, but so far, nobody had made any comments, and the first years were even happily conversing with Hermione. Harry had managed to keep Hermione talking in between classes, and had kept her as far away from Ron as he could. So far, it seemed to have worked, and as they had no more classes for the rest of the day, the hard part was over. He allowed a small smile to play on his face as he listened to Hermione debate about some kind of charm with Blaise and Draco. Yes, this day was pretty good, for a Halloween.

Just then, an owl landed in front of Theodore, who untied the scroll. Harry watched him absentmindedly, until Theo read the scroll and became deathly pale. He pocketed the scroll, and Harry asked him if everything was ok. Theo nodded, but Harry could clearly see that all was not ok. It didn't take long for Theo to leave the room, and Harry turned back to Draco and Hermione. Watching Draco talking animatedly, Harry suddenly felt a bit uneasy. Surely Draco's parents wouldn't be very happy that Draco had made friends with a Muggleborn. Harry hadn't really considered the consequences, but there were sure to be some, given what Draco had told about his home life in the Year Meeting. Then, all of a sudden, Harry had a terrible realization.

"Draco, we need to go," Harry said.

Without looking if Draco was following, Harry walked out of the Great Hall. Outside, he stood for a moment, thinking of where Theo would've gone.

"What's going on, Harry?" Draco asked.

Harry turned to Draco, and saw that Hermione had followed him too.

"It's Theo, he got a letter from home. He's really bad off this time, I think we need to find him as soon as possible," Harry said.

Draco's eyes widened in understanding, while Hermione looked confused. Thankfully, she seemed to understand that now was not the time to ask questions.

"He's probably somewhere in the dungeons, but not in the dorms or common room. We'll need to search the empty rooms," Draco said.

Quickly, they walked down to the dungeons, where they began searching the empty classrooms and storage rooms. Suddenly, a cry from Hermione drew Harry's attention. Hastily, he walked to where she was standing. Looking in over her shoulder, he saw what had shocked her. Theo was laying on the floor, his wrists cut, slowly bleeding to death. He'd lost a lot of blood already, and wasn't conscious anymore. Harry pushed past Hermione.

"Hermione, snap out of it! I need you to put pressure on his left wrist," Harry said, as he pulled of his tie and handed it to Hermione.

Pulling of his shirt, Harry grabbed Theo's right wrist and put the shirt on the wound, pressing down as hard as he could. Hermione was still staring, and Harry barked at her to start moving. Fortunately, that snapped her out of it, and she too started applying pressure to Theo's wrist. The noise had drawn Draco, who was staring in horror at the pale body of his housemate.

"Draco, go get Snape. Go to his classroom, it will be quickest," Harry said.

Draco nodded and took off at a run. Harry turned his concentration back to Theodore.

"Hermione, put more pressure on the wound, put your whole weight in it if you have to. We need to slow the bleeding down long enough for Professor Snape to get here," Harry said softly.

Hermione was clearly distressed. She had tears running down her cheeks, but her hands were steady, and she obeyed Harry's command.

"Can't we do anything more? Maybe a tourniquet?" Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head.

"No, that won't work. The arteries in the forearm run between bones, they can't be compressed. If we put a tourniquet on him, he'd still bleed just as fast as he does now. Pressure is the only thing that will work," Harry said.

He was glad that Hermione didn't question how he knew that. He didn't want to think of an explanation that would seem plausible. After all, he could hardly tell her that his medical knowledge stemmed from emergency medical aid in the midst of battles that would never take place.

Harry forced his mind away from those memories, and looked back at Theo. He was even paler than when they'd found him, and Harry knew that he was fast approaching the point where not even magic would be able to save him.

"He's going to die, isn't he?" Hermione asked, sounding very young and very fragile.

Harry looked at her, and narrowed his eyes. There was no way he'd let Hermione loose her faith in the world so soon, or ever, if he had anything to say about it.

"No, he's not, because we're not going to let him!" Harry said.

"But it's taking Professor Snape so very long, and he's losing so much blood," Hermione said.

Harry looked down at Theo. He knew there was one more thing they could try. Madam Pomfrey had told him about it, but she also explained that it was very dangerous. Harry had only tried it once, and that was with his magical core matured and highly trained. He wasn't even sure if it would help, but he knew he had to try.

"There's one thing we can try," Harry said. "But it might be dangerous to us."

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

"We push a little of our magic into him, that should help sustain him until Professor Snape gets here. The danger is in not being able to stop," Harry said. "We could end up squibs."

"How do we do it?" Hermione said.

Harry smiled. He should have known that she would do it, even if it meant she put herself in danger.

"You concentrate on the feeling of your magic, just like you do when you perform a spell. Only, instead of guiding the magic through your wand, we'll guide it into Theo," Harry explained.

Hermione nodded her understanding.

"On three, one… two…" Harry said.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, and Draco stormed in with a potions vial in his hand.

"I don't know what took Professor Snape so long, but he's coming. Here, we need to feed this to him, Blood-Replenishing Potion," Draco said.

Carefully, Draco lifted Theo's upper body a bit, and poured the potion down his throat. Theodore got a bit more color, which greatly relieved the three friends.

"Why didn't the Professor come with you?" Hermione asked Draco.

"He's gone for Madam Pomfrey," Draco answered.

Harry nodded. It made sense. Wounds like these were best treated by a trained professional, and while Harry suspected Snape could do it if he had to, it felt good to know that the man would give up control to someone more suitable if the situation called for it.

Then, finally, Snape rushed in, Pomfrey right on his heels. They quickly went to work, while Hermione, Draco and Harry stood aside and watched. After what seemed like an eternity, Snape stood back, while Pomfrey levitated Theodore out the door.

"Poppy, the password to the room is 'Slytherin pride'," Snape said.

Pomfrey nodded and left. Harry looked at Snape. He wasn't sure what was going to happen now.

"Are the three of you all right?" Snape asked.

They all nodded.

"Miss Granger, I am going to put a secrecy spell on you. What happened here will be kept under wraps, and the spell will make sure you don't accidentally let something slip," Snape said.

Hermione looked a little anxious.

"It's all right, Hermione. Draco and I are under such a spell, it doesn't really do anything. It's not like this is something that you're going to talk about with just anyone, and the spell just helps you keep it a secret. Theo wouldn't want anyone to find out about this," Harry said.

Hermione still didn't look completely reassured, but nodded her assent. Snape performed the spell, and told her that if she ever needed to talk about it, his door would always be open. He then cleaned them of all the blood that clung to their hands and clothes, before beckoning them to follow him. Harry slipped his hand in Hermione's.

"I don't get all this. I just…" Hermione whispered to Harry.

"Don't worry, Miss Granger, you'll get a more thorough explanation once we are in my chambers. I need to check on Mister Nott first, then I will talk to you three," Snape said.

Harry squeezed Hermione's hand, and Draco smiled encouragingly.

"Don't worry, Hermione. We won't bite, I promise," Draco said.

Hermione sighed.

"I know, it's just, a bit much, you know… He almost died…" she said.

The rest of the way to Snape's chambers, silence reigned.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

8. Trouble All Around

It was close to midnight when Severus pounded on the doors of Minerva's quarters. It took a long time for Minerva to finally open the door, and when she did, she looked like she had just rolled out of bed. Which, Severus had to admit, was probably exactly what had happened.

"Severus, is something wrong?" Minerva asked, concerned.

"Yes, I can't get drunk because I have to get up in the morning to teach a class of dunderheads, and I almost got one of my students killed," Severus said.

Without a word, Minerva stood aside to let Severus in, and poured him a Firewhisky.

"I doubt you'll get drunk from just this one," she said as she put it in front of him.

Severus knocked down the drink in one gulp.

"Now, what happened?" Minerva said.

"Theodore Nott tried to kill himself tonight, and when several other students used one of my emergency modes of calling my attention, I delayed because I was following Quirinus. Had I been any later, the boy would've been beyond saving," Severus said.

Minerva frowned.

"Well, for starters, I hope Theodore is all right. How are the children who found him holding up? And why in the world would you follow Quirinus?" Minerva said.

"Theodore is fine, physically at least. Mentally, it will take some time. I am not really getting through to him, as of yet, I don't even know why he is cutting himself, let alone what prompted this," Severus said, tired in a way that wasn't physical. "Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger found the boy. I have placed Miss Granger under a secrecy spell. You may want to let her know that you are also included in the secret, so she can talk to you should it be necessary."

"I will, Severus, but do not think that you can distract me. You still have not explained why you were following Quirinus," Minerva said.

Severus sighed. Sometimes, Minerva could be like a dog with a bone.

"He was up to something. I've had some suspicions about him all year long; he's been loitering around the third floor corridor and I am sure he had something to do with that troll being inside the castle," Severus said.

"Have you gone to Albus with this? No, don't answer that, I already know you haven't. You'll go to him, won't you?" Minerva said.

"As soon as I have the time, yes," Severus answered, reluctantly.

He didn't like talking to Albus about this, especially as he had his suspicions about why the Stone was in the castle at all.

"Well, at least the troll didn't do any damage, and Albus managed the situation quite well," Minerva said.

Severus looked at her incredulously.

"Well? You call that well? He once again showed his total disregard for Slytherins, with that stupid order to return to the common rooms," Severus raged. "Quirinus said the troll was in the dungeons, he sent my students right in the direction of that thing! I had to tell the prefects to lead them to the Charms classroom, and I locked down the common room to seal in anyone that wasn't there for dinner. Not once did Albus think about that! And you call it 'managing the situation well'."

"Well, when you put it like that," Minerva said faintly.

After a few more minutes in silence, Minerva suddenly grinned.

"Pray tell, what is on your mind to give you such a Slytherin-like smile, Minerva," Severus said, curious what she was thinking about.

"Did you see the looks at breakfast and lunch this morning? Granted, during breakfast there weren't many students, but the reactions were quite amusing, to say the least," Minerva said.

"Ah yes, who would've thought that two Slytherins would be welcome at the Gryffindor table, or a Muggleborn, and a Gryffindor to boot, at the Slytherin table?" Severus said, smirking.

"Yes, shock was going all around the Great Hall. I'm still not sure what caused the most whispers, breakfast or lunch," Minerva said.

"I would guess lunch, I heard rumors about Miss Granger under the Imperious Curse so she could be used in a Dark Arts ritual," Severus said.

"Hmm, quite amusing, what students can come up with nowadays," Minerva said.

"Yes, only I was less amused by Albus's reaction," Severus said. "He looked quite pleased by Harry sitting at the Gryffindor table, but almost angry when the roles were reversed during lunch."

"What are you implying, Severus?" Minerva asked.

"I don't think Albus is pleased with Harry's placement, other than that, I'm not sure," Severus answered.

"I'm sure Albus means well," Minerva said.

"Meaning well and doing well are two very different things, Minerva," Severus said.

That killed the conversation better than the Killing Curse, and soon after Severus left Minerva's rooms and went to his own quarters to check on Theodore.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

At seven o'clock, Severus sent a house-elf to wake Theodore. He knew last night had been stressful, and the boy could probably sleep some more, but he needed to talk to Theodore before classes began.

Fifteen minutes later, Theodore joined Severus for breakfast. He was fully dressed, but didn't seem to have much appetite, as all he did was shove food from one side of his plate to another.

"Theodore," Severus said, "we need to talk about yesterday."

Theodore flinched, but looked up at Severus obediently.

"With the amount of blood you lost, I feel it would be a good idea if you were to rest today and went back to classes on Monday. I don't have the time to talk to you before the start of class, but we will talk after dinner. In the mean time, I have cast a spell on you that will prohibit any kind of self-harm. Do you understand that?" Severus said.

Theodore nodded, but still didn't speak. A few minutes later, he asked in a soft voice if he could be excused from the table. Severus gave him permission, but when the boy was out of the room, he sighed. He got the idea that getting Theodore to talk about what happened would take some time. Until then, he wouldn't take the spell off.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Severus sighed as he waited in his office for Harry. Yesterday had been a total disaster. He had a trying day in classes, and then a very difficult talk with Theodore in which absolutely nothing was accomplished. The boy was even more reluctant to speak of anything than before his suicide attempt, and Severus was no closer to finding out what had prompted the cutting and subsequent attempt to kill himself.

This morning he'd had a talk with Draco, first about what he'd witnessed, then he had slowly moved the conversation to Draco's home life. The boy was reluctant to speak about it, mostly out of fear of what his mother would do to his father, it seemed. He did, however, express the wish to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas. But both Draco and Severus knew that it was very unlikely that Narcissa would allow that.

And now, the most difficult talk of the day would be here. Harry. The boy seemed to keep a lot of his home life hidden, and Severus knew he would be a tough nut to crack. A knock on the door told Severus that Harry had arrived.

"Come in," he said.

Harry entered the room, and took a seat.

"I wanted to talk to you about what happened on Halloween, Harry. It's a hard thing to see, and I want to make sure you don't have any problems because of what you saw," Severus said.

Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm fine, Sir. Just glad I realized everything in time, and we found him in time," Harry said.

Severus frowned. Surely the child didn't mean what he thought.

"Are you saying that you didn't accidentally find Theodore? But that you actually went looking for him?" Severus asked.

If that were the case, Harry might be just the thing he needed to crack Theodore's resistance to talking about his problem.

"Yes, Sir, I mean, we did go looking for him. I saw him receive a letter from home, and he turned very pale and walked away from lunch. So I told Draco we needed to find him, Hermione went with us, even though she didn't know anything," Harry said.

Severus was stunned. He'd been in the Great Hall too, and he had been keeping an eye on his students. Yet, he hadn't seen Theodore disappear from the Great Hall. He blamed himself, and his obsession with Quirinus' weird behavior. Perhaps Minerva was right, he did need to talk to Albus.

"How did you know that Theodore would try to kill himself?" Severus asked.

"I didn't exactly know, Sir, I just had this feeling that we had to find him," Harry answered.

Severus suppressed a sigh. He had hoped the boy would know something more about Theodore's situation, but it seemed it was not to be.

"Well, I think you did very well, Harry. But remember, if you have any problems with coming to terms with what you saw, or if you have trouble sleeping because of it, come and see me," Severus said.

"I will, Sir," Harry said.

"Now, besides from what happened with Theodore, how was the rest of your Halloween?" Severus said.

"It was fine, Sir," Harry said. "Well, apart from the whole troll bit. Stuck in the Charms classroom with almost the whole house isn't much fun after a while."

"Yes, I can imagine," Severus said.

Shortly after that, Harry left. Severus leaned back in his chair. He hadn't gotten anywhere with Harry, as the boy hadn't given him any openings for asking about his parents or home life. He didn't dare push Harry too much, for fear of the boy clamming up completely. He needed to keep the lines of communication open, or he would never be able to help the boy. His story in the last Year Meeting, and several loose comments he had made, had revealed enough to Severus to know that the boy did need help. Now all he needed to do was convince Harry of that fact.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Would you like a cup of tea, my boy?" Albus asked, as always.

It was a testament of how bad a week Severus was having that he actually contemplated saying yes. However, to prevent himself from being drugged and Albus from having a heart attack because of shock, he decided to decline.

"What can I do for you?" Albus said.

Severus closed his eyes for a moment, thinking of the best way to breach the topic. Or rather, topics. When he opened his eyes again, Albus was looking at him with a worried expression on his eyes. Severus gave Albus a wan smile.

"Well, first I would like your opinion on Quirinus," Severus said.

"Quirinus?" Albus said. "Well, the poor man obviously had quite a scare in Albania. Other than that, I don't see where you're going with this."

Severus sighed. Trust the ruddy old coot to make this even more difficult than was necessary.

"I believe that he is up to something. He's behaving quite suspiciously, hanging around the third floor corridor," Severus said.

"Perhaps, but have you thought about the fact that he could be just guarding it?" Albus said. "Caution is advised, for sure, but paranoia is going a bit too far."

Severus almost growled. Honestly, why did the man always have to be so bloody difficult? What was worse, he knew Albus was probably right, and he, unlike Albus, knew just what price his paranoia had almost had.

"Perhaps you are right, perhaps I am being paranoid. If you find nothing strange about Quirinus, I will let it rest," Severus said.

Albus leaned back in his chair, smiling, but Severus could see the slight surprise. He also knew that the old man would never ask him why he had given in so easily, so he didn't have to confess anything. After a silent thanks to Merlin for that little bit of mercy, he broached the second topic.

"I was hoping you could give me some advice," Severus said.

Albus leaned forward, looking intently at Severus.

"You know I will always advise you, when you ask," Albus said.

Severus inclined his head, hearing the unspoken message of always being able to go to Albus should he need help.

"One of my students is being abused at home, and I am trying to keep him here over the Christmas holidays. Unfortunately, I have not yet thought of an excuse to keep him here. He is a good student, so I cannot keep him here under the pretense of tutoring. I would offer him extra lessons, but you know how purebloods are when it comes to the yuletide season, with all their parties and must-attend events," Severus said.

"Yes, I see where that would pose some difficulty. Unfortunately, I cannot think of a viable excuse, in light of what you just said. I am sorry I cannot be of more help, my boy," Albus said.

Severus sighed. He hadn't expected Albus to come up with anything to help Draco stay at Hogwarts during the Christmas holidays. Still, it hurt Severus that he could do absolutely nothing for the boy, except be ready with healing potions and salves the moment the boy stepped foot in the castle again.

He thanked Albus and made his way back to his own quarters. Perhaps he could try to get through to Theodore again. Luck had it that Theodore was rather abysmal in Transfiguration, and he had already discussed tutoring over the holidays with Minerva. That way, he could at least keep one charge safe during Christmas.

Entering his quarters, Severus shed his thick, black outer robes that protected him during his potions classes. He knew they made him seem more severe, and that was not what he wanted to convey when talking to Theodore. So, dressed in only his dark green under robes, he opened the door between his living room and Theodore's room, only to stand stock still when he saw that Harry was visiting Theodore.

Theodore was explaining Charms to Harry, which puzzled Severus for a second. He couldn't recall Harry's grades being bad enough to warrant needing help. After searching his memory, Severus' eyes widened in realization. Harry's grades were better than Theodore's in Charms, which could only mean that Harry had used it as an excuse to talk to Theodore. And as luck would have it, the secrecy spell wasn't in effect in Severus' rooms, as a safeguard, and Theodore's room was part of his quarters.

Deciding it would be more prudent to listen in on the conversation than interrupt it, Severus silently closed the door again and activated the listening charm. Harry's voice could clearly be heard as the boy thanked Theodore for his help. For a moment, Severus feared he might have read the situation wrongly, when Harry ended that doubt by asking Theodore how he felt.

"I feel fine," Theodore said.

"But are you fine? I mean, not just physical, but, you know," Harry said.

That was a question Severus had posed many times in the past few days, but he had failed to receive an answer.

"No, not really. I'd probably try again, but I can't, Snape put a spell on me," Theodore admitted after a while.

"Yeah, I can imagine that," Harry said.

"Did you try too?" Theodore asked.

Severus listened intently, scared to hear that Harry had actually tried to kill himself. That would pose a lot of problems.

"No, thought about it, though. My family isn't exactly friendly, you know, they don't want me. Don't know what would've happened in a few years if I hadn't found out about being a wizard," Harry said.

"Yeah, my family's the problem too. They do want me, just, not the way I am, you know?" Theodore answered.

Finally, we're getting somewhere, Severus thought. With both of them. Too bad they can't tell me about it, or rather, won't tell me about it.

"Well, if you look at it that way, then my family's exactly the same. They want me to be normal, as in not magical. But, seeing as that's impossible…" Harry said.

"Yeah. So, you staying over Christmas?" Theodore asked.

"Hell yeah, like the Dursleys would even let me come home. In fact, uncle Vernon told me not to come home until the summer holidays, and if it were up to him, not even then," Harry said.

"I can stay too. Normally I wouldn't be able to, you know, with all the obligations and all. Wouldn't do not to have the heir to the Nott family name not attend, but it's even worse if I flunk out on Transfiguration, so they're letting me stay here for tutoring," Theodore said.

"I didn't think you were that bad," Harry said.

"Nah, I think it's professor Snape, I'm sure he badgered McGonagall into it," Theodore said.

Severus smiled; the boy was close to the truth, although asking was enough in the case of Minerva.

"Doesn't that bother you? People trying to manipulate you like that?" Harry asked.

"Well, if they would manipulate me into something I don't like, yeah, but as long as I want what they want, why not?" Theodore said.

"Mmm, perhaps, though I can't stand manipulation just on principle," Harry said.

Severus filed that bit of information away for future reference. It wouldn't do to make that mistake and lose the trust of Harry, as far as he had any, that is.

"So, you want to come to the Common Room for a bit? We missed you, you know. Or you could come with us to the library, Hermione's been asking about you," Harry said.

"I don't know," Theodore said.

"Come on, she won't be able to talk to you about it anyway, so there's nothing to worry about," Harry said.

"Oh, all right," Theodore answered.

Severus cancelled the listening spell, knowing he'd gotten all the information to be had for the moment. Now, if only Slytherin would defeat Gryffindor in the match the next day, he'd be a happy man, despite the rough start to the week.

A/N: thanks to my fantastic beta Logical Quirk


	9. Chapter 9

9. Moving Forward

Harry sat in the Quidditch stands amidst his fellow Slytherin year mates, watching the first Quidditch match of the year. It was weird watching Quidditch, instead of playing it. It was even weirder to be rooting for Slytherin. Harry looked over at McGonagall and Lee Jordan. He'd missed Lee's comments. Looking back at the game, he saw Flint committing a foul. At least that hadn't changed. Harry didn't think he'd survive a fair playing of Slytherin. It was weird enough to have a House Meeting solely about Quidditch. Harry had expected some serious topic, but instead Snape had given the Slytherins a Quidditch pep-talk. Harry had known that McGonagall was Quidditch-mad, but he'd never expected Snape to be worse. Harry's eyes searched the Gryffindor section of the bleachers as Slytherin scored a goal. He couldn't find Hermione, and with a jolt, he realized she wasn't there. In fact, he was willing to bet that in the original timeline, she'd only come to the games because he played in them. It was a sobering thought. A sudden cheer from the Slytherins brought him back to the present. The Snitch had been caught, and they'd crushed the Gryffindors. Suddenly, Harry was glad Hermione couldn't care less about Quidditch, for that meant she'd have no hard feelings. A cheering Draco dragged him from the stands into the castle. Harry laughed and started discussing the match in great detail with his friend, for that was what Draco had become, despite his earlier misgivings.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Dear Mister Lupin, no, that was just wrong. Dear Remus, no, too informal. Mister Lupin, no, too cold and impersonal. Remus Lupin, no that sounded like a bad movie or something. Harry sighed and wadded up another parchment. He threw it in the waste basket he'd put next to his bed for just that purpose. Perhaps if he tried skipping the intro, saving it for later. Right, first sentence. You probably don't know me anymore. Harry snorted. Yeah, right, everybody knew him, friend of his father or not. This might come as a surprise to you, but…. But this sounds so ridiculous you're not going to even read past that part. Harry sighed again and threw down his quill in frustration. He knew that writing a simple letter shouldn't take nearly two months. He also knew he was afraid. Afraid to lose his last chance to free Sirius sooner, but maybe even more afraid of messing up his friendship with Remus. The man had been such a support for him before he died, and Harry was scared to death he might screw this friendship up before it even began, much like he had with Ron.

"Hey, everything all right?"

Harry looked up to see Theo.

"No, not really," Harry answered.

"Watcha working on? Transfiguration?" Theo asked.

Harry snorted.

"I wish. I'm trying to write a letter, but as you can see, it's not really working," Harry said, pointing at the waste basket which was filled with failed attempts.

"Is it a formal letter?" Theo said.

"I'm not really sure," Harry said.

At Theo's raised eyebrow, he explained what Snape had told him about Remus.

"Damn Ministry," Theo growled. "Idiots, the lot of them."

"No offense, Theo, but I thought most purebloods agreed with the Ministry on werewolves," Harry said.

Theo shook his head.

"No, they only started seeing werewolves as Dark Creatures after the war with Grindewald, and most of that was Muggleborn influence."

Well, that was news to Harry. For a moment, he wanted to pursue the topic, but then he decided that the letter to Remus was more pressing.

"Well, that's great, or not so great, depending on how you look at it. Unfortunately, it totally doesn't help with writing this letter," Harry said.

Theo smiled and grabbed a quill.

"How about we work on it together?"

Harry smiled. It was good to have friends like Theo. Half an hour later, Harry watched Hedwig fly South until she was just a speck on the horizon. He wondered if Remus would answer. He hoped he would.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"If you could have anything you wanted for Christmas, what would you ask for?" Hermione said, breaking the silence of the library.

She might just as well have shot a gun, for the reactions that question got her. Harry shot up straight from his position of being hunched over his charms book. His first panicked thought was that she'd discovered his secret, before ruthlessly squashing that thought. The reaction of the other two boys at the table wasn't much better. Theo had gone deadly pale, and his hands shook a little. Draco was gripping his quill so hard that the poor thing looked close to breaking.

"What kind of a bloody question is that," Draco hissed.

Harry could see what a strain it was on Draco to keep his voice even. Clearly, Harry wasn't the only one rattled by Hermione's question. Hermione looked quite upset by Draco's hostile comment, and mumbled: "never mind". Harry put his hand on her arm, causing her to look up to him.

"It's a pretty personal question, the way you put it, Hermione. You startled us a bit, Draco meant no offense. Why did you ask?" he said.

"Never mind, I'm sorry, it's stupid anyway," Hermione said. "Let's just forget it."

"No, it's not stupid, or you wouldn't have asked," Harry said.

"Well, it's just something I always do. I ask people this question, and they answer. Usually it's something impossible, or really, really expensive. And then I try to find the perfect gift for that person," Hermione said, a faint blush on her cheeks. "I told you it was stupid."

Harry was surprised. Hermione had never, ever asked him or Ron that before. But, then again, Ron probably would've laughed and, Harry was ashamed to admit, he probably would've too.

"It's not stupid," Draco said, which was as close to an apology as he ever came, "but it's a bit inefficient. Why not just ask what you can get us for Christmas?"

Hermione smiled and shrugged her shoulders, still blushing.

"I just like the challenge, it's fun," she said.

Draco rolled his eyes.

"If I could have anything I wanted for Christmas, then I wish I wasn't a pureblood," Theo suddenly said.

Harry thought he knew what Theo was talking about, but it still surprised him that Theo said as much. Hermione frowned thoughtfully, but didn't ask anything.

"I'm not answering. You want a challenge, here's one for you. Get me something Muggle, that's better than it's magical equivalent. And, if you can't find anything, Quidditch and candy's always fine," Draco said.

Hermione grinned at the issued challenge, but Harry noticed how neatly Draco had avoided answering the question without calling attention to it. Hermione turned expectantly towards him, and Harry realized it was now his turn. The easy answer would be his parents, alive, but really, he had accepted their deaths a long time ago. Sirius free, but he couldn't say that. Ron as his friend again, but he couldn't say that either. Then, his mind turned to all the prejudice Slytherins had to deal with, and the amount of grief the Gryffindors gave Hermione over her friendship with Draco, Theo and himself.

"I would want a Hogwarts without Houses," Harry said with a smile.

Hermione nodded, the absentminded smile on her face that she always got when she was in deep thought. Harry was curious what kind of a gift he'd get based on that comment.

Later that evening, Harry and Draco were getting ready for bed. Gregory and Vincent were already out like a light, Theo was in his room in Snape's quarters, and Blaise was still in the common room.

"Hey Draco," Harry said softly, "what would your answer have been to Hermione's question?"

Draco tensed up and turned away from Harry. Harry bit his lip and was just about to apologize when Draco answered in a soft voice.

"I wish I could stay here for Christmas."

With that, Draco crawled into bed and shut his curtains, clearly ending the conversation. Harry mulled over Draco's comments. From what Theo had told him, flunking class was just about the only reason he got to skip all the one-upmanship parties that surrounded the pureblooded Christmas. Because a flunking child was not very brag-worthy. It was a shame, really, that all of Draco's grades were so good. Suddenly, Harry had an idea. A slow smile spread over his face. He'd need Snape's help for his plan to work, but he really didn't doubt the man's readiness to help him. And if it worked, Draco would get his Christmas wish.

HPHPHPHPHP

A couple of days later, Harry was having breakfast with his friends. They were debating what they would do first that Saturday, homework or a mini chess tournament, when Hedwig flew up to Harry with a letter. Harry paled. It was probably Remus' reply.

"That the letter you've been expecting?" Draco asked.

"Yeah," Harry said softly, recognizing the achingly familiar handwriting on the envelope.

A few minutes went by, while Draco and Theo ate, and Harry stared at the letter.

"Aren't you going to open it?" Theo asked.

"What if… What if he doesn't want to write to me?" Harry said. "What if he only wants to tell me that he's not interested in any contact with me?"

Draco rolled his eyes, while Theo tried to reassure him that, no, Remus wouldn't decline his request to write letters and share his memories. Still, Harry pocketed the letter without reading it.

"Coward," Draco teased.

Harry rolled his eyes, but he knew that Draco was right, even though the comment was made in jest.

After breakfast, the boys started up their mini chess tournament in the common room, having decided it was far more important than homework that could just as well be done the following Sunday. Harry was defeated in half an hour by Theo, and now Draco and Theo were battling wits. Both boys were fairly evenly matched, so it looked to be becoming a long game. Longer than Harry had lasted, anyway. The letter from Remus, still unread in his pocket, weighed heavily on Harry's mind. He felt like it was his last chance to get something right. Suddenly, he couldn't stand it anymore.

"Hey guys, I'm going to read the letter, I'll be back later, all right?" Harry said, standing up.

Draco, whose turn it was, just hummed in response. Theo whispered "good luck" and offered him a comforting smile. Harry tried to smile back, but got no further than a grimace. He walked out of the common room, knowing Gregory and Vincent were in the dorm room and wanting to be alone to do this. He pulled the letter out of his pocket, hands shaking. He wet his lips, and turned it over, and over, and over again. Harry groaned. He knew this was ridiculous, but he was just too scared. He stuffed the letter back in his pocket. Obviously, this wasn't going to work. Then, the brilliant idea to let someone else read the letter first came to him. Immediately, he thought of Snape. The man had office hours now, was honest enough to tell him the truth about the content of the letter, and could be trusted to keep the whole thing a secret. Before he knew it, he was standing in Snape's office.

"What can I do for you, Harry?" Snape asked.

"I, uh…" Harry said.

He swallowed, and tried to voice his request again. After another bit of stammering without meaning, Harry sighed.

"Sorry, sorry," he said, hot tears burning in his eyes. "Maybe this was a bad idea. Sorry I disturbed you."

He turned away, intending on leaving, but Snape's soft voice stopped him.

"Harry, come here. Why don't we go into my sitting room, and have a cup of tea."

Harry sighed, and trailed after Snape. Before he knew it, he was comfortably seated on the couch in Snape's Slytherin office with a cup of tea in front of him.

"Now, why don't you tell me why you came to see me?" Snape said, still in that soft tone of voice.

Harry, who felt very foolish, shrugged his shoulders. Snape just sat back, waiting. Harry squirmed a bit in his seat. Harry knew he wouldn't be allowed to walk out of here without talking, not with that lovely little display he put up earlier.

"I wrote to Remus," Harry blurted out, unable to keep quiet under Snape's caring gaze. Snape nodded, but didn't say anything. Harry bit his lip.

"He wrote back," he said softly, then fell silent again.

He so didn't want to talk anymore, so Harry looked down at the floor. He couldn't see Snape's stare, but he still felt it. It was, however, easier to ignore now that he didn't see it. After a few minutes of silence, Snape asked what Remus had written. Harry started to clench and unclench his hands.

"I…" he started, but trailed off.

The hot tears were back, and when Snape put his hand on Harry's shoulder, they started to fall, silently.

"Harry, what did he say?" Snape asked, now sounding concerned.

Harry was really sobbing now, and couldn't say a word. Snape pulled him into a hug. Harry cried, heaving sobs now, as all the stress and anguish he'd bottled up since Hermione's death came out. Finally, after what felt like hours of crying, Harry grew silent. Still, he didn't draw back from the hug, and neither did Snape. Harry wished he could stay in Snape's strong arms forever, protected from the world, from all the horrible things that had been and were still coming. But, he knew it couldn't last, so he withdrew from the hug. Snape looked him in the eye, searching for something, which he obviously found, as he nodded and sat back down. Harry did too, and drew Remus' letter out of his pocket.

"I haven't opened it yet," Harry said softly. "I'm afraid he won't want me, won't want to have anything to do with me."

"Do you know why the Ministry put a restraining order on Remus?" Snape asked.

Harry frowned, bewildered by the question. What in the world did it have to do with Remus accepting him?

"Because he's a werewolf?" Harry asked.

"In part," Snape said. "But they never would've gone through the trouble of issuing a restraining order if he hadn't tried to get custody of you after your parents were killed."

Harry gaped at Snape. Remus had wanted to raise him? Had wanted to keep him? Harry had never known that.

"Read your letter Harry, I'm sure he'll be delighted to know you yet again," Snape said.

Harry opened the letter and upon opening a photograph fell out. It was a wedding picture of his parents. Harry smiled and skimmed the first part of the – rather long – letter.

"You're right, he does want to write to me," Harry said happily to Snape.

Snape just smiled at Harry.

HPHPHPHPHP

Harry was bottling his potion at the end of the Potions class, but his mind wasn't on the task. It was the last class before the Christmas holidays, and after the weekend most students would leave the castle. Draco had been getting more despondent as the week progressed, and Harry was worried. It was beginning to look like his plan hadn't worked, and Draco had to go home, despite Harry's best efforts. With a sigh of disappointment, he labeled his potion and delivered it to Snape's desk. Snape caught his eye, and gave him a nod, then nodded towards Draco, who was still bottling his own potion. Harry stifled a gasp, and raised a questioning eyebrow. Snape nodded again, and Harry grinned, his spirits lifted now that he knew his plan had worked. Harry returned to his seat, and started packing his bag. He was just finishing up when Snape directed everyone to deliver their potion sample to him, whether they were ready or not. Everyone scrambled to finish up and pack their bags, most not wanting to linger any longer then they had to, when Snape's voice was heard over the general mêlée.

"Malfoy, Potter, stay behind."

Draco shot a questioning look at Harry, who shrugged his shoulders and suppressed his grin. He couldn't wait to see Draco's reaction.

Once everyone was outside, Harry approached Snape. Draco was already there.

"Did we do something wrong, sir?" Draco asked Snape.

"No, not that I know of. Have you?" Snape asked.

Harry reflected about the fact that he could now see the humor in that remark, as where in the old timeline, he'd have taken it as an insult. What a difference perception made. And perhaps, Harry acknowledged ruefully, maturity had something to do with that too.

"No, sir, we haven't done anything you should know about," Harry answered.

Snape smirked.

"I hadn't expected anything else," Snape said. "I asked you two to stay behind because I wanted to make you an offer. I've seen the talent the two of you have in Potions, so I wanted to give you some extra lessons during the Christmas holidays, if you are interested."

"I am," Harry said.

"Mister Malfoy?" Snape asked.

"I'd like to, but I'd doubt my parents would allow it, sir," Draco said dejectedly.

"I've already spoken to your parents, and they have given their permission for these lessons," Snape said.

Draco's smile was almost painful to see, and Harry smiled. It was the happiest he had seen Draco in a while, and Harry was glad to see it.

"That's so cool, thank you, sir," Draco said.

Harry grinned and nodded.

"Yes, thank you very much for spending your free time on us," Harry said, meaning every word.

Snape smiled softly.

"It is my pleasure, Harry. I will always make time to nurture talent, as would most teachers here," Snape said.

Harry had a feeling Snape meant more than he was saying, but didn't know what. Before he could think too much about it, a positively bubbly Draco had grabbed his hand to drag him out of the classroom. Harry just managed a quick goodbye to a chuckling Snape before he was yanked into the hallway.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros

A/N: First of all, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you. This is the last up-date for this year. The next up-date for this story won't be until the second half of February, because I'm going to finish writing my other story An Emerald Alliance first.

Chapter 10 Christmas Woes

Still amused by Draco's exuberance, Severus put the students' potions inside a box, which he tapped with his wand and sent it to his office for grading. Suddenly, he heard a commotion outside the classroom. He walked towards the door and soundlessly pulled it open. A few paces away were Harry and Draco, obviously on the defensive, while Hermione Granger was spewing an angry tirade about something. Severus listened for a minute to determine what it was about. Apparently, she was angry that the boys were having extra potions lessons during the holidays.

"He's just favoring Slytherins; it's not fair. I'm just as good as the two of you, why didn't he offer me the same lessons?" the girl wailed.

Severus was very glad he hadn't offered her extra lessons, for he found her to be very irritating. However, he wasn't about to let this friendship be destroyed because of such behavior. The Muggleborn's friendship with the two Slytherins was vitally important for its exemplary function.

"I can tell you why, Miss Granger," he said, stepping out into the hallway.

All three children whirled around to face him. He smiled inwardly, pleased with his ability to surprise his students.

"Professor," Granger exclaimed, mortification clearly visible on her face.

"I didn't offer you extra lessons because you would not benefit from them," Severus said. "You are a book learner, and while you are good with potions, you do not have the natural aptitude and instincts to do anything other than follow a recipe. Both Mister Potter and Mister Malfoy possess the required aptitude and instinct, which is why I am giving them extra lessons."

The girl looked thoroughly chastened and mumbled softly that she understood. Severus nodded and strode off, but looked back when he was at the corner. It seemed like Harry and Draco were consoling the girl and all was good again. He didn't mind being the bad guy in this instance; he had only been telling the truth after all.

HPHPHPHPHP

Two days later Severus stood in the corner of the staff room, a goblet of spiked punch in his hand. It was the annual staff Christmas party, which he was required to attend.

"Hiding in the corner again, are we?" Minerva asked, coming to stand next to him.

"You are hiding in the corner too," Severus snarled back.

"Now, now, don't be such a grump, Severus. Think happy thoughts. Most of the children are away, so we have some peace and quiet, that's nice, isn't it?"

Severus looked around the room. Most teachers were well on their way to becoming tipsy, only the Heads of Houses staying mostly sober in case something happened. He snorted, took a big swig of his drink, then looked in askance at his friend.

"Oh, yes, very nice. And when they get back, I can patch a number of them up from the abuse they suffered on the hands of their family. We're not even talking psychological damage. Yes, let's celebrate."

Minerva sighed. "Oh, really Severus, must you always be such a pessimist?"

"It's called a being realist, Minerva."

"But still, it's Christmas. Try to focus on the positive," she said kindly, then moved on to the next teacher.

Focus on the positive, right. He'd managed to keep several children whom were in danger at the castle during the Christmas holidays - that was positive, he supposed. Still, Christmas wasn't a happy time for Severus as he had too many demons to enjoy the season like his peers.

"Ah, my boy, lovely party, isn't it?"

Severus smiled a tense smile at Albus, whom was dressed in a bright red robe, with green tinsel on it. For Albus, it was a rather tame outfit.

"Quite," Severus answered sarcastically.

"I saw that Draco Malfoy was allowed to stay here during Christmas," Albus said cheerfully, completely ignoring Severus' tone. "How did you manage to do that?"

It didn't surprise Severus in the least that Albus had guessed that his request for help had been about Draco. After all, the man knew all about Narcissa's abuse. Thinking about the plan, Severus smiled his first real smile of the evening.

"Actually, Harry came up with the idea," Severus said.

"Really? Now you've certainly made me curious, my boy," Albus responded.

"He came to me, talking about how Draco wanted to stay here, and about how he had a plan but needed my help. He said that one-upmanship seemed to be important among purebloods, and that Draco would be allowed to stay if it meant they could brag about something. So why not give him extra lessons, as that would be something worthy to brag about," Severus said.

"But that wouldn't have worked," Albus said. "Extra lessons alone are not enough reason to skip the Yule season."

"I know," Severus nodded, "and I told him that. All he did was smile, and say that it would if The Boy-Who-Lived got those same lessons".

"He didn't?" Albus said, shocked.

"Oh yes, he did. And he was right; as soon as Narcissa heard that Harry Potter would be following my extra lessons, her darling boy had to follow them too," Severus said, grinning.

Albus frowned. "Well, I can see why it worked, but it's a bit worrying that Harry is throwing his status around like this."

"He's not," Severus said. "Draco doesn't even know it's Harry's idea, nobody does. And it really was the only way to keep Draco safe."

"Yes of course," Albus said, smiling brightly once again. "Harry's always trying to help people, very recommendable, that, very recommendable. Oh, look, Sybil has graced us with her presence, I think I should go and talk to her."

With that, Albus walked away, leaving Severus with the disquieting feeling that there was more going on than Albus was telling him, and that it all revolved around Harry. Taking another sip from his drink, Severus decided to shelter Harry from Albus' machinations as much as he could. An innocent child shouldn't fall victim to the greater good, no matter how important that good was.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Severus awoke on Christmas morning to the smell of coffee. Grabbing his robe, he walked into the sitting room. As usual on Christmas, there was a cup of coffee waiting for him, and two presents. One from Albus and one from Minerva. Blearily, Severus sat down and grabbed his coffee. Turning his look at the presents, he did a double take. There were three presents there, instead of the normal two. He grabbed his wand and cast several detection spells, but everything was in order. He racked his brain to figure out who would have send him a gift besides Albus and Minerva. Lucius might have, but with the situation so precarious, he wouldn't want to cause any suspicions by doing something out of the ordinary. Sighing, Severus decided the only way he was going to find out was if he actually opened the present.

Deciding to leave the mystery present for last, he grabbed Albus' gift, easily recognizable by the garish wrapping paper with little dancing reindeers on it. Opening it, he saw it was the newly released book from Libatius Borage, entitled "Potions Use In Dealing With Severe Conditions." Thumbing through it for a moment, he placed it aside to read at a later date, when he had more time. Minerva's present was the usual bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhisky. Setting that aside also, he carefully grabbed the mystery package. It wasn't very large, and the wrapping was green with a silver bow. Slowly pulling back the paper, it revealed a midnight blue box. Opening it, Severus gasped. Inside was a high-end quill and a small bottle of red ink, and in special pockets in the lid, there were several different tips that could be put on the quill. Alongside the quill was a small card, which he grabbed. It didn't say much, just 'Merry Christmas, Harry Potter'. Looking from the card to the gift and back, Severus had to swallow away some tears.

"He's just like you, Lily, so much heart. I'll take care of him, I promise, even if it's the last thing I do."

HPHPHPHPHP

Two days after Christmas, Severus sat in his wingback chair, sipping a glass of the Firewhisky Minerva had gifted to him. He'd spend almost the entire day with Draco and Harry, going over potions ingredients and how to use them. It had been a productive lesson as far as learning about potions went, but was far less productive when it came to connecting with the both of them. Heaving a sigh, Severus decided to put his troubles out of his mind for the rest of the evening and picked up his new book. He'd barely read a chapter when the alarms indicating someone was trying to get to the Stone went off.

Arriving at the third floor corridor, he saw he had beaten both Albus and Minerva there. With his wand out, pointed at the entrance, he carefully scanned the dark corridor in case he wasn't as alone as he thought. Soon he was joined by both Albus and Minerva.

"Let's go," Albus said.

Carefully opening the door, which hadn't been closed completely, Albus gently shoved a music box into the room which was playing Christmas carols. After half a minute, he opened the door completely. The big Cerburus that was guarding the entrance to the Stone was fast asleep. In no time the three teachers were past the Devil's Snare, after some judicious use of fire charms. Slowly they made their way through the dark, damp room, careful to avoid any traps set by whomever was after the stone. Albus went through the door to the next room first, eliciting an exasperating curse from Minerva and a grimace from Severus. In part he agreed with Minerva's sentiment, but he knew the old man was more than capable of looking after himself.

The next room was bright and a flurry of sound and movement. Severus scowled and wished himself back in the other room, where there were more shadows from which to defend himself. A password opened the locked door, and Minerva's chess set came in sight. It was truly a magnificent sight, Severus had to admit, but also a disconcerting one. The chess set was still in pristine conditions, indicating that whomever had crossed the room had not done so by playing across the room. Dark charms were the only other answer, which wasn't reassuring in the a few swishes of Minerva's wand, the trio walked into the next room, where an incredible stench made Severus want to retch. They quickly made their way into the next chamber, in which Severus had set his trap. He was disappointed to see that not only had his riddle not stopped the thief, he'd apparently not even needed the potion to pass through the flames.

"We should be careful, whomever is in there used some serious Dark Magic to pass through the chambers," Severus warned the others.

Minerva pulled a face at that, but didn't seem deterred in any way. True Gryffindor courage, Severus thought.

"We're ready," Minerva responded, as she gripped her wand tighter.

With a few muttered words Severus disabled his trap, and they carefully went into the next room. Their only hope now was that Albus' trap had held, or the thief could be long gone. Severus could imagine the horrors someone with Dark aspirations could produce with the Stone in his or her possession only too well. It was something Severus was determined to stop at all costs. Once inside the last chamber, Severus was both shocked and vindicated as Quirinus whirled around to face them.

"Quirinus, you're not who I was expecting," Albus said, sounding disappointed.

Briefly Severus wondered if Albus was disappointed that the man was trying to steal the Stone while he'd trusted him, or disappointed that it was not the Dark Lord, thereby confirming his theory.

"You're a fool, old man, and my master will defeat you now once and for all. Then the Stone will resurrect him, and he will rule you all," Quirinus shouted, then fired his first spell.

The foul curse was stopped by Albus' shield, and then the fight was on. The three defenders quickly overpowered Quirinus, and soon had him lying bound on the floor. However, before they could approach him, a horrible scream came from the man's mouth, and out of his body came a specter which was horribly familiar to Severus.

"I will return and you will all pay," the specter screeched, then flew away through the wall.

"Oh my, was that…" a very pale Minerva said shakily.

"Yes, my dear, that was Voldemort," Albus said gravely.

Severus suppressed his flinch when the name send a burst of pain through his arm and instead went to check on Quirinus. As he had assumed, the man was dead, the sudden withdrawal of the Dark Lord having killed him.

"At least the Stone is safe," Severus said. "Although I am not sure if I will ever be able to pick up my duties once the Dark Lord returns."

He didn't know if he should be glad or disappointed about that.

"Well, we'll think of something should that happen, although I'd rather stop his return in its entirety," Albus said. "For now, we need to deal with Quirinus' body, the Stone, and finding a new Defense teacher before the end of the holidays."

Minerva started back the way they came, floating the body behind her. Severus went to follow her, but turned back to Albus before he left the room.

"I might have an idea for a new Defense teacher, come and see me after you're done here," he said.

Albus nodded, and Severus left, deeply troubled by the happenings of the evening.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

The rest of the week passed without much incident, but this changed on Monday night. Around 2 in the morning, his student-in-distress signal awoke Severus. After pinpointing it to the first year boys' dorm, Severus broke out in a sprint, terror gripping his heart that the Dark Lord's specter had gone after Harry. He barged into the dorm room, only to come up short at the sight of a gasping Harry, surrounded by the other boys, all of whom were clearly concerned.

"What happened?" Severus asked brusquely.

"Harry had a nightmare, Professor; he woke the entire dorm up with his screaming," Vincent said.

"I couldn't get him to wake up, then all of a sudden he shot up and was awake," Draco added.

"All right," Severus said, putting away his wand. "Why don't you all try to get back to sleep? Harry, let's go and have something to drink, shall we?"

Harry nodded and, after grabbing his robe, followed Severus out of the dorm. Once inside Severus' sitting room, ensconced with hot chocolate for the boy and black coffee for himself, Severus asked Harry about his nightmare.

"It's not a big deal," Harry said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Yes, it is, Harry," Severus said softly. He was determined not to stop this time until the boy talked to him. "Everyone has nightmares, and while all are different, none of them are 'not a big deal'."

"You have nightmares, sir?" the boy asked, not looking at him.

Severus hesitated for a moment, debating whether or not he'd allow this temporary distraction, then decided that maybe sharing something of himself was a way to get the boy to open up to him. Merlin knew nothing else he'd tried so far had worked.

"Yes, I do," Severus answered.

"About your time as a Death Eater?" the boy asked.

For a moment, Severus was surprised. He'd expected some question about what his nightmares were about, but to get asked so directly about his past was a shock. Apparently, something of the Gryffindor qualities of his parents, like sheer courage, had been passed to the son.

"Yes, some of them are about that time," Severus answered honestly. "But the one I have most frequent, the one that hurts the most, is about something that happened several years before I became a Death Eather."

Harry looked at him, clearly surprised. Then, the surprise turned to contemplation.

"Yeah, I can get that. Sometimes the big things just happen, you know, and nothing you could have done could have stopped it. So you don't dream about it so much. But the small things, things you could have changed, those hurt," Harry said.

Finally, Severus thought, finally we're getting somewhere.

"Yes, they do hurt. Is that what your nightmare was about?" Severus asked, and then waited with bated breath for the answer.

For a moment it seemed like Harry wouldn't answer. Then the boy snorted.

"No, not this time," he said, his eyes closed. "This was the plain old green lights, high pitch laugh, parents screaming nightmare."

Severus swallowed heavily. He so wasn't the right person to deal with this. Unfortunately, he was the only one here. Never before had he wished for Minerva's presence so much. She'd surely know what to say. He decided to go with the easy question first.

"Do you have this nightmare often?"

"No," Harry answered. "When I was really little I had it a lot, but I grew out of it, I think. This is the first time in years that I've had it."

This made Severus frown. He didn't believe in coincidences, and Harry having this particular nightmare so soon after the Dark Lord's specter had left his servant's body was a cause for concern, to say the least. He wasn't, however, going to concern the boy with this. Seeing that Harry had finished his drink and was beginning to have trouble keeping his eyes open, Severus escorted the boy back to his dorm. Back in his own rooms, he looked forlornly towards his bed, dubbing whether or not he could catch a few more hours of sleep. Deciding it was better to start researching the connection between Harry's dream and the Dark Lord's specter when he was fresh, he vanished the coffee he hadn't drunk yet, and laid down for a couple of hours sleep.

The soft pinging of the Floo woke Severus the next morning. Waving his wand to get the time, he was startled when it showed him that it was well past eight. He never slept so late. Reluctantly getting out of bed, he made his way to his sitting room and opened the Floo. Immediately Lucius' face appeared in the flames.

"Can I come through?" he asked, voice tight with tension.

Wordlessly Severus nodded. He had a feeling this was going to be bad. When Lucius had stepped through, Severus closed down the Floo again.

"Should I get Albus?" he asked.

Lucius shook his head.

"No, I don't have the time to wait for him, I need to get back before I am missed."

"What's wrong?" Severus asked his friend, eyeing him with increasing worry.

"We have a huge problem," the blond wizard said. "You'll never guess who visited my house last night."

Severus said down heavily.

"I can guess," he said morosely.

Lucius looked at him, but obviously decided to let the comment go, for he began telling Severus about the visit of the Dark Lord's specter.

"This will ruin all of our plans for the summer," Lucius concluded.

Severus nodded absently, his mind still reeling with what Lucius had just told him. Things were moving fast, far too fast for his liking. But at least he had part of the answer as to why Harry had his nightmare last night of all nights. It briefly made him wonder what the Dark Lord had been up to in Harry's early years, when he'd had the nightmare so often.

"I have to go," Lucius said. "You'll brief Albus?"

"Yes," Severus reassured his friend. "And I'll come back to you with the new plan. Don't worry, we'll find a way to stop this."

"That's not what I'm afraid of," Lucius answered. "I'm more afraid of what this will mean for Draco."

Severus had no reply to that, and Lucius left as despondently as he had arrived.

A/N: Thanks to Steppenwolf for a wonderful beta job.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Chapter 11 Surprises All Around

Harry frantically searched in his trunk for the misplaced essay he needed. He'd worked a whole week on it to get it ready for the last special Potions lesson and now he couldn't find it. He shifted aside his new cloak, a Christmas present from Theo, and his new Quidditch book, Draco's present to him. Still no essay though, and Draco was calling for him now. Then he found it, underneath the still-wrapped Invisibility Cloak. When he'd awoken on Christmas morning, he'd managed to hide it from the other boys. He'd decided to keep the cloak a secret from everyone this time around. He now knew that any advantage, no matter how small, could save lives and also that secrets were only kept if no one else knew about it. With a relieved shout of joy at finding the essay, he joined Draco and together they hurried to the Potions classroom.

After the lesson, Harry and Draco thanked Snape for spending his free time teaching them. Snape surprised them by saying it was his pleasure and actually meaning it, as far as Harry could determine.

"There's nothing more pleasant than teaching those with potential," Snape said. "Moreover, you two have shown great dedication to these lessons. As such, I will allow you both to choose one potion that I will teach you to make this weekend."

Harry and Draco grinned at each other. Harry felt a bit glowy with the unusual praise from his Head of House.

"However," Snape said, glowering at them. "If you use the potion against me, your Housemates, or in my class, I'll have you in so many detentions you'll be in them until your N.E.W.T.s. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," both boys chorused.

"Now, Draco, any ideas on which potion you'd like to make?" Snape asked.

Draco thought for a moment then smirked mischievously. Harry wondered what he had in mind.

"I'd like to make a Color-Changing Potion, please," Draco said.

Harry grinned. He saw the potential for pranking with that potion and also knew, from Snape's warning, that if they didn't get caught using it, the professor wouldn't report them. Snape agreed to Draco's choice, then asked Harry what he wanted to make. Harry's first thought was that he'd like to learn how to make Wolfsbane. He was on the verge of asking if he could learn that when he realized that it would take far longer than just this one weekend to learn it. It wouldn't be fair to ask Snape for that and he probably wouldn't even get to make it even if he did ask. Thinking over the long list of potions that he'd seen used in the war, unwittingly the image of an emaciated Sirius after he'd escaped rose in his mind.

"I'd like to learn how to make a nutrient potion," Harry said quietly.

Snape looked at him with an indecipherable look. Harry fought the urge to squirm.

"A good choice," Snape said slowly.

Harry sighed in relief. For a moment there, he'd thought Snape would say no.

"But not what you were going to ask," Snape continued, one of his eyebrows raised.

Draco looked curiously at him, while Harry mentally groaned. Trust the man to pick up on that. He bit his lip and looked at the ground.

"Harry?" Snape's voice came.

Harry sighed. The man sounded concerned, so he knew he wouldn't get out of answering.

"I was going to ask if you'd teach me how to make Wolfsbane," Harry said, giving in to the inevitable. "But that takes way longer than just this weekend, so it's not fair to ask."

Harry looked up after saying that, expecting to see Snape mad. After all, the man had already given up all of his afternoons this holiday, except for Christmas day. Harry figured he really had no business asking his professor to give up even more of his time. However, instead of a mad Snape, he saw a smiling Snape.

"You're right," the man said. "It would take longer than a weekend. In fact, I'd estimate it would take two, maybe three years before you could make a passable Wolfsbane Potion. That is, if you followed twice-weekly lessons with me. However, if you are willing to make that commitment, I am willing to teach you."

Harry gasped in surprise. Had the man really just said he'd teach him how to make Wolfsbane?

"Uh, yes, please, sir!" Harry stammered, happy beyond words.

"Good, then I suggest I see you tomorrow to brew your potion," Snape nodded towards Draco, "and I'll see you on Sunday for your nutrient potion and we'll discuss your Wolfsbane lessons then."

Harry happily agreed to this, overjoyed that he'd learn how to make Wolfsbane and get to learn how to make a nutrient potion. How he'd ever thought Severus Snape was selfish he'd never understand.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

When Harry left the potions classroom on Sunday afternoon he was ambushed by Draco, Theo, and a recently returned Hermione.

"Finally, I thought you'd never be done!" Draco said excitedly. "Now we can exchange presents."

Harry grinned, welcomed Hermione back, then followed the other three to the abandoned classroom where Draco and he had held Hermione's surprise birthday party. The four of them had turned it into a den, with liberal transfigurations work by Hermione and himself mainly. It was the only place they could get together comfortably. In the library they could only study or face Pince's wrath, and both common rooms were out for obvious reasons. When they got there Draco produced his own present as well as Harry's. While they boys had exchanged presents at Christmas, Hermione had said she wanted to give them her presents in person, so they'd decided to exchange presents when she was back from her parents.

"Me first," Draco exclaimed, virtually shoving his present at Hermione.

Carefully, Hermione unwrapped the package. Inside was a book on dragons. Hermione thanked Draco, who grinned and said he'd thought it appropriate. Hermione handed Draco his present and he eagerly opened it. Harry burst out in laughter as he saw the ballpoint pens in all colors of the rainbow.

"What's this?" Draco asked curiously.

"Well, you did say you wanted something Muggle that was better than its magical equivalent," Hermione said. "And a ballpoint pen is infinitely better than a quill and ink."

Hermione showed Draco how to use it and both he and Theo were amazed by the pens. Draco even conceded out loud that the pens were better than quills. Hermione was delighted by the reception of her gift. Theo was up next and he handed his present over with a grin. Upon opening it turned out to be another book. Hermione was so ecstatic about it that she almost forgot to give Theo his book. Theo was just as excited about his gift, which was a rather thick book about Muggle history. Finally, it was Harry's turn. He handed Hermione an unwrapped box. She opened it and looked up confused when she found nothing inside. Harry smiled and looked at his watch.

"Just a minute, please," he said.

Hermione looked even more confused now, while Theo and Draco had big grins on their faces. They knew what was about to happen, seeing as that they'd helped Harry set it up. Suddenly, a loud meow was heard and Hermione looked in amazement at the box, which now contained a tiny orange cat with a face that looked like it had been smashed into a wall.

"His name's Crookshanks," Harry said to Hermione, who was cuddling the creature. "he's half cat, half Kneazle. I've got his stuff here." Harry pointed at the sack next to the couch.

"Oh Harry, he's wonderful," Hermione gushed.

She cuddled Crookshanks some more, then carefully put him back in the box. She gave Harry his present and went right back to cuddling the kitten, while keeping an eye on Harry. He carefully unwrapped his present and pulled out a book.

"Ghandi?" Harry asked Hermione.

"It's inspirational things he said," Hermione said. "I'll bet you'll like it. He was just as much about equality as you are."

Harry blushed and thanked her. Soon after, they went to their own common rooms to put their gifts away so they could go to dinner.

HPHPHPHPHP

On Monday morning Harry walked into the Great Hall for breakfast with Draco and Theo. Out of habit, he let his eyes slide through the Hall. When he got to the Head Table, he gasped in surprise.

"What?" Draco asked.

"It's Remus," Harry said. "There, next to Professor Sprout."

Theo and Draco turned to look at the Head Table too. Remus chose that moment to look in their direction and smiled. Harry grinned back, happy to actually see Remus, but at the same time wondering what he was doing at Hogwarts.

"May I have your attention please," Dumbledore said, standing in front of his seat.

The normal noise of the Great Hall died away as everyone turned their attention to the Headmaster.

"I'm saddened to tell you all that Professor Quirrell unexpectedly passed away during the Christmas holidays," Dumbledore said.

Harry felt his insides freeze. There could only be one explanation for Quirrell's demise: Voldemort's spirit must have left him. The only question now was, did Voldemort have the Stone or not? With great effort, Harry pushed his concerns away and turned his attention back to Dumbledore.

"Therefore, I'd like for you all to meet your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin."

Harry gasped in delighted surprise and enthusiastically joined the clapping of the rest of the students.

"Wow, this is great!" Draco said. "No more Quirrell."

"Yeah," Theo said. "And now you can talk to Remus in person, Harry."

Harry nodded absently, still grinning from ear to ear, staring entranced at Remus. The man had been one of the few constants in his life after Sirius died, and when he fell a year before Harry had gone back in time, it had almost crippled him to the point of contemplating suicide. To have the man back in his life by writing to him had felt like a dream come true after Ron's harsh rejection of Harry's friendship. But this, having the man actually here, filled a hole in Harry's heart he didn't even know he had.

The rest of the day saw Harry walking around in high spirits. However, when classes for the day were over, Harry could no longer suppress his worries about Quirrell and the Stone. As it was, he wasn't at all surprised to have the age-old familiar nightmare about Voldemort murdering his parents that night. Snape took him from the dorms for a private conversation, which helped Harry get back to sleep but didn't do anything to calm Harry's worries. He knew he'd severely compromised the time-line when he got sorted into Slytherin and had decided to fix things sooner than planned. Now though, he worried he might have made things worse instead of better. He didn't think he could take not knowing what had happened, so he went to see his Head of House after classes that Tuesday.

"Mr. Potter," Snape said after Harry had taken a seat. "What can I help you with?"

"I was just wondering if the thing on the third floor is still safe, sir," Harry said.

"What are you talking about, Mr. Potter?" Snape asked harshly.

Harry flinched. Perhaps it hadn't been such a good idea to ask about this, despite his concerns.

"Hagrid picked up a package when he took me to Diagon Alley," Harry said, thinking quickly about the things he could know this time around. "And the next day the paper said that someone tried to break into that vault the same day we were there. And then the third floor is off limits, so I figured whatever they tried to steal is now here."

"Even if it was, Mr. Potter," Snape said, calmer now though still sounding stern. "It is neither your responsibility nor your concern."

"But Quirrell," Harry exclaimed, then quickly clamped his mouth shut.

"What about Professor Quirrell?" Snape demanded, intent now.

Harry knew he'd made a big mistake by coming here and an even bigger one by mentioning Quirrell. He just hoped he'd be able to talk his way out of it without making Snape suspicious. Sometimes the man really was too perceptive for Harry's liking.

"He was there, that day. I met him in the Leaky Cauldron. And he made my scar hurt if I was around him," Harry said. "Now that he's dead, it's a bit… you know, too coincidental."

"He made your scar hurt?" Snape asked. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders. He'd never even thought about telling anyone, because nothing could be done. Snape sighed.

"If your scar ever hurts, tell me immediately, understood?"

"Yes, sir," Harry answered.

"Good. Then if there's nothing else?" Snape asked, a clear dismissal.

Harry shook his head and made his way to the door.

"And Mr. Potter," Snape said just as Harry reached the doorway. "You can rest assured that everything is where it belongs."

Harry breathed a mental sigh of relief, and with a soft thank you to Snape he left the man's office.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPH

Harry nervously approached the door that led to Remus' quarters. At least, if he'd followed directions correctly it would be. It would be the first time Harry would really talk to Remus face- to-face, besides the brief conversation after Defense class where they'd arranged to meet this afternoon. Harry knocked and within no time he was ushered in and seated on the couch with a goblet of pumpkin juice in front of him. The conversation started a bit hesitantly, Remus asking about Christmas and Harry answering. After that a slightly uncomfortable silence fell and Harry nervously plucked his robes. He wanted to tell Remus so much, wanted to really talk to the man again, but he was also really conscious of the fact that for Remus this was only the first time they'd come face-to-face in a non-classroom setting.

"I've got something for you," Remus said, filling the silence.

The man stood and walked into what Harry assumed was the bedroom. Within no time he was back with a familiar looking album in his hands. Harry's eyes widened as he recognized the photo album Hagrid had given him at the end of his first year. Remus sat down next to him and gave him the album. Harry opened it to see the achingly familiar pictures on the first page. He felt tears burning in his eyes and confusion welled up inside him. How come Remus gave him the album Hagrid had made?

"I started making it when you turned eleven. I knew you were going to come back to the Wizarding World and I doubted Petunia had a lot of pictures of your parents," Remus said softly as Harry paged through the album. "I'd thought of having Hagrid give it to you, but then you wrote and I realized I could give it to you myself."

Harry carefully stroked the wedding picture of his parents. It had been Remus all along, Remus who had given him one of the most prized possessions he'd ever owned and the man had never said a word.

"Thank you," Harry said softly.

"Shall I tell you about the pictures?" Remus asked.

Harry nodded his consent and together they went over each picture, Remus telling stories and Harry listening avidly. Some of the stories he'd heard before, but most of them were new. And then, miraculously, the opening Harry had been waiting for came as Remus identified Sirius Black on one of the photographs of his parent's wedding.

"Professor Snape said Sirius turned Dark," Harry commented.

"Yes, he did. His betrayal hurt a lot, nobody saw it coming," Remus said sadly.

"How did my parents react? They seem close," Harry asked, knowing full well that his parents had never known anything about Sirius' alleged change of alliance.

Remus heaved a sigh, but did tell Harry the official version of events, about Sirius' betrayal that led to his parents dead. Harry schooled his features into the appropriate face of outrage and then one of sadness.

"Did he ever say why he did it?" Harry asked, after Remus had fallen silent.

"I'm sure they asked him in his trial, but I didn't attend," Remus said. "I was too busy trying to get custody of you."

Harry smiled, but filled that information away for future use. The two of them switched to lighter subjects and after a few hours, Harry said his goodbyes after promising to visit again next Friday.

After dinner that evening, Harry was playing exploding Snap with Theo and Draco, when he turned the conversation to Sirius Black's betrayal. Both boys were suitably horrified by the betrayal.

"Is there any way to know what he said during the trial?" Harry asked. "Remus said he might've given a reason for what he did during questioning."

"I can ask my Dad to find you the trial transcripts," Draco offered.

"That'd be great, thanks," Harry said.

Privately, Harry wondered if Lucius Malfoy would actually help him or if he'd try to cover up the fact that there were no transcripts because there hadn't been a trial. However, it was worth a try and if he had to he'd go after the non-existent transcripts himself. That should shake things up. He'd probably have to go to the press, couching his desire for a trial in terms of getting answers from the man who killed his parents by betraying them. Public opinion was something Harry had learnt to be a very powerful tool, and for now at least, the public loved The-Boy-Who-Lived. As long as he acted as they expected, he'd get their support for a trial for Sirius. As much as he'd like to tell everyone Sirius was innocent, fifth year had taught him that such an action would not work. Not even mentioning the fact that he wasn't supposed to know Sirius was innocent.

"Hey Harry, it's your turn," Theo said, nudging Harry.

Harry refocused on the game and spent the rest of the evening playing and laughing with his friends. When they got ready for bed, Harry asked Draco if he could write to his father the next day.

"Yeah, I will," Draco assured him.

"Thanks," Harry said.

Draco merely nodded and wished him goodnight. That night Harry dreamed of a free Sirius, happy and laughing; and of himself, living with his godfather.

A/N: Thanks to my beta Danii and Anita!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Chapter 12: Tangled Knots

It was late in the evening when Lucius arrived and Severus felt a sliver of fear at Lucius' troubled look. With the return of the Dark Lord, however spectral he might be, none of them were safe. And for Lucius to come to Hogwarts in the middle of the week like this, something must've happened.

"Lucius, is everything all right?"

Lucius snorted and sank down in a chair. Severus poured him a Firewhisky. After a slight hesitation, he poured one for himself as well and sat down across from his friend.

"I got a letter from Draco a few days ago. In it was a request on behalf of Harry Potter," Lucius said. "He wants the court transcripts of Sirius Black's trial."

Severus cocked an eyebrow and aimed an incredulous look at Lucius. Dear Merlin, what on Earth had the boy gotten into his head?

"Yes, that was my reaction as well. But I thought it would be a good idea to foster a good relationship with the Boy-Who-Lived. Besides that, he wants the transcripts to see if Black gave a reason for his betrayal. Something I can empathize with."

Severus slowly nodded his head. Yes, that made sense; the boy was inquisitive and wanted to know things, and something like the reason for a betrayal would be important to him. But why Harry hadn't gone to the wolf with his question was a mystery to Severus. To have Black's betrayal brought up like this made Severus recall the questions he himself had once had when he'd learned of it. No matter how much he despised the man, he had always believed him to be loyal to James Potter.

"What did the transcripts say?" he asked.

"That, my friend, is the problem. There are no transcripts to be found," Lucius answered gravely.

Severus sucked in a shocked breath. No transcripts meant no trial, and that thought was horrifying. It could so easily have happened to him, shut away in Azkaban with no trial because everyone in the wizarding world had known he was guilty. The same could be said for the blond wizard seated across from him.

"And now I am faced with a conundrum. Do I hide this by rejecting Potter's request for help, thereby possibly cutting off a potentially very valuable relationship, or do I tell him the truth?" Lucius asked.

Severus didn't have to think long about an answer. Harry's words to Theodore about hating to be manipulated came to mind and they left only one option.

"Tell him the truth," Severus answered. "He hates to be manipulated."

"Very well, then that is what I shall do."

Lucius stood to leave. For a moment, Severus debated with himself if he should push Lucius closer to Harry or not. In the end, the mutual benefits both of them might get from a closer relationship won out over Severus' misgivings.

"You could offer to help him with whatever step he wants to take next," Severus said.

Lucius inclined his head in thanks for the advice then disappeared through the Floo. Severus cradled his Firewhisky in his hands, thinking about Black and Harry and Lucius. He wanted to discuss the situation with Albus, to ask his help in figuring out his feelings and thoughts about this tangled knot that had been discovered. But he was getting the growing suspicion that Black might be innocent of betraying the Potters and he was unsure if Albus was aware of that. Surely, Black wouldn't have kept Harry ignorant and ignorance cultivated malleability. But was Albus ruthless enough when it came to the greater good to keep an innocent man in Azkaban and an innocent boy with despicable Muggles?

The whole situation was so tangled up that Severus didn't know who to trust anymore. He realized he might find a good ally in the wolf, but in the end he knew that the only one he could truly trust to be in Harry's corner was himself.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The next day after classes had ended, Severus found himself in a situation he couldn't have imagined in his wildest dreams; seated on the couch of Remus Lupin, politely drinking tea and making small talk. Well, the wolf was making small talk and Severus was being polite enough not to say anything snide.

"But I am sure you are not here for a social visit, Severus," Lupin said.

"No, I am not," Severus replied. "I came because Harry Potter has been asking questions about Black."

Lupin's face darkened with rage, which was quickly replaced with sadness.

"I am sorry he came to you about that," Lupin said.

Severus didn't correct the wolf on his assumptions. He couldn't suppress a snort of derision however. Luckily, Lupin took it to mean something else.

"I am sorry, Severus. Our behavior, my behavior, was inexcusable."

"Then why are you trying to apologize?" Severus sneered.

Lupin ignored it, probably because he knew he deserved it, Severus thought.

"He asked me about Sirius as well, he wanted to know why he would betray James and Lily. I couldn't answer him, as I wasn't at the trial," Lupin said. "I should've known he would try to find out another way. I'll talk to him and make sure he doesn't bother you with those kinds of questions again."

"My Slytherins know they can come to me with anything," Severus said. "And make no mistake, Lupin, Harry is one of my Slytherins, no matter who his father was."

Lupin's eyes widened in surprise, but Severus took no heed of it and continued. It was time to see if the wolf was in Harry's corner, as Severus believed, or too much in Albus' pocket to be of much use.

"Harry has in fact pursued the matter more thoroughly than just asking. He thought to go straight for the source and asked for the trial transcripts. What is worrying however, is that there were none to be found."

"Oh Merlin, but then… Why would? I mean, oh Merlin," Lupin stammered.

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. He could feel a massive headache coming up. So typically Gryffindor, this reaction, no decorum at all.

"I just thought to warn you there might very well be a trial, if Harry decides to pursue the matter," Severus said.

And really, that should've been the end of the discussion, were it not for the fact that Lupin threw a veritable temper tantrum at the thought of innocent little Harry doing such a thing.

"Harry hasn't been a child since he was placed with those despicable Muggles," Severus roared as he stood up from the couch, completely losing his patience with Lupin's ranting.

Right after he said it, he wished he could simply cast _Obliviate_. Lupin might be a lot of things, but stupid wasn't one of them. And he had none of Minerva's naiveté either.

"Severus, what did you mean by that?" Lupin asked.

His tone was dark and dangerous, and really, what was the point in asking for an explanation if you'd already reached the right conclusion. Severus sighed and sank back on the couch.

"I think you know exactly what I mean, Lupin," Severus said, sounding tired even to his own ears. "And I cannot divulge any more than what I have already said. I am not in the habit of breaching someone's trust, no matter my ill-advised words of just now."

"Why haven't you said anything, done anything?" Lupin questioned, still angry.

Severus gave Lupin a stern look. Perhaps the man was denser than Severus thought.

"And who would be believed? Me, a former Death Eater, or Harry Potter the paragon of light? Do you honestly think I would let him go back to that place if I for one minute thought I could get him out of there? He has not even told me about it, let alone divulge his story to a pair of unfamiliar Aurors."

Lupin shook his head.

"No, you are right. But perhaps I can get him to talk about it, did you think of that?"

The man still sounded angry, but Severus saw a broken man behind the angry façade. A man who had done everything to protect those he would call family and had failed.

"Perhaps you could, but to do so you would have to admit that I told you things that were said to me in confidence. That would lead to a breach of trust between Harry and me that I could never heal," Severus said. "Nevertheless, if I thought it worth the risk, I would have done so, but he is as likely to tell me about the abuse as you."

Lupin shook his head, which made Severus sigh in exasperation. Surely the man could see that he did not yet have the level of trust that would be required for such a conversation? But the wolf surprised Severus with his next words.

"He's far more likely to tell you than me," Lupin said. "We might talk about his parents, but he doesn't tell me anything personal. You're right, telling me wouldn't have done any good."

"So you will keep this information to yourself?" Severus asked, his eyes intent on the other wizard.

"I won't let on that I know," Lupin promised.

Severus accepted the promise, but knew that it would only be good until the foolish Gryffindor thought he knew better. The fault, however, could be laid squarely at Severus' own feet, so it would have to do. He drank down the last of his tea and left. Lupin cordially said goodbye. Merlin, I hope the wolf doesn't think this makes us friends, Severus thought as he walked back to his own quarters.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

The last day of the week brought no disasters and Severus managed to push the memory of being friendly with Lupin away by completely ignoring the man whenever he saw him. Saturday was very productive, with a session with Theodore that actually yielded some progress, tiny as it was, and a pleasant afternoon of brewing with Harry. Sunday saw Severus winning the chess match he had going with Albus and a relaxing tea with Minerva. All in all, it was a very pleasant ending to the week.

It was therefore extremely jarring to be called to the Slytherin common rooms Monday morning before breakfast because of a prank. Apparently somebody had spelled the Slytherin common room entrance to drench the first group of students leaving for breakfast in green goop. Magically resistant goop, that is. Severus ordered the ten affected Slytherins back to the showers and sent the rest of the house to breakfast.

While waiting for his Slytherins to get out of the shower, Severus took the Floo to the kitchen for some breakfast for them. It wouldn't do for them to miss a meal because the Weasley twins were up to their usual terrorism. It wasn't the first time that year, or any year really, but it galled Severus that without proof he could do nothing about it. This time, however, it seemed fairly harmless.

When the students that had been doused in the goop came out of the shower, however, Severus adjusted his initial assessment. The goop might have been washed away, but everywhere it had touched bare skin it had stained the skin a glowing, bright green. Severus tried to glamour his snakes to spare them the humiliation, but the magical resistance of the goop had been transferred to the spots as well. Finally giving up, he sent them to class with a few comforting words and a few pieces of toast.

The rest of the day, Severus quietly stewed. He knew the Weasley twins were behind the attack on his house, but neither Albus nor Minerva would listen to him about it. He had tried so many times before, even going as far as to bring up James Potter and Sirius Black's pranks to make Albus see sense. None of it had phased the man and in the end, all Severus could do was try and level the playing field a bit by making the Weasley twins lives a living hell after each prank by taking points for breathing wrong.

It wasn't enough though, not nearly enough. Not only were the twins wasting their talents in Potions and Charms and even Transfiguration by using them only for pranks, they were just as vicious against Slytherin House as Potter and Black had been in the past. Severus dreaded the results of the 'harmless pranks' as Minerva called them. At least Albus sympathized with his concerns that these pranks could push his snakes to following paths better left alone, but even that didn't compel the man to help. If he thought it would help, Severus would've sat the twins down for a serious chat, but it wouldn't help. And so Severus spent the rest of the day practically stalking them, which resulted in a loss of one hundred and ten points for Gryffindor. But it still wasn't enough.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

The next day, the green spots caused by the prank had cleared up. Severus had tried to catch the twins at anything that could cause him to take points, but they had neatly avoided him all day. So Severus was fairly unhappy when he ceased his pursuit of revenge and adjourned to his office for his office hours. He wasn't expecting anyone, since it was too early for O.W.L. or N.E.W.T. questions and most other questions were taken care of between his snakes, so he was surprised when Harry came in with a stack of parchments.

"I was wondering of you could help me with a question I had about Potions, Professor," the boy asked.

Severus frowned, he couldn't imagine Harry having any problems with his Potions homework since they were working on much more advanced Potions in their private lessons. Yet he also hadn't set any work for their lesson tomorrow. Intrigued at what Harry would be working on, he waved the boy further inside. Harry placed the parchments in front of him. A quick glance told Severus that each parchment held a separate category of potions, all in relation to charms.

"I've been wondering how Charms and Potions could be combined, and I even started researching it, but I'm not having much luck," Harry said.

Severus raised his eyebrow. Not much luck, the child said. He had at least ten different potions in relation to a charm on each parchment, and there were three parchments all together.

"See, there are potions that require charms to be cast when brewing," Harry said, pointing at the first parchment. "And there are charms that can be used in conjunction with potions, like cleaning charms and such that won't cause a reaction. And there are charms that can be used with potions, like spelling a potion into someone stomach when they're unconscious. Actually, most of those charms are medical."

"I fail to see the problem," Severus said, reading the parchments as each was pointed out. "All of this information is correct and you seem to have a good grasp of the matter."

Actually, Severus was quite proud of Harry. Doing his own research besides his normal homework and their private lessons, and at quite a high level as well. Harry however, didn't seem very impressed with his own work. In fact, he blew out a frustrated breath.

"Yes, but see, that wasn't what I was going for. I mean, I wanted to see how charms could influence potions after they were brewed. But all I've been able to find is charms to influence potions while they're being brewed or charms that influence how potions are used but that don't actually influence how the potions works," Harry said, clearly frustrated.

"Hmm, yes, I see where you're going," Severus said. "I have some books on the subject, wait here a moment."

He quickly Flooed to his quarters and retrieved three books on the topic of Charms and Potions. They were also in the Restricted Section of the library, but Severus didn't want to explain to Albus why he had given an eleven year old access. Not to mention that said eleven year old was Harry Potter.

Once back in his office, he handed the books to Harry with the stern reminder not to loan them out to anyone and to preferably keep under wraps that he had them. Another warning not to damage them in any way, or else, and Harry was on his way. Severus didn't think anything of it, except with a bit of pride at Harry's talent and interest in Potions, until that Friday.

The day started off as any regular day, and it stayed that way until dinner. In the middle of dinner though, a sudden commotion at the Gryffindor table drew the attention of everyone in the Great Hall. The Weasley twins were the center of attention, as usual. Severus, seeing his chance to take some more points, quickly made his way to them. The sight that met him, however, made him hard pressed to hold back a chuckle.

All over the skin of the twins were animated, tiny, green snakes. They were very simple in form, but still clearly snakes. It was actually a very hard effect to get, requiring very complicated Charms, so that way was out. The twins surely would have seen someone cast it. So that left a potion. Off the top of his head, Severus could think of three that could cause this, but two required restricted ingredients and the last one was so hard to brew that it wasn't even taught at N.E.W.T. level. That certainly narrowed down the suspects.

By now, Minerva had joined them and was futilely trying to get rid of the wriggling snakes that were roaming over the twin's skin. Exasperated with her lack of success, she sent them to the infirmary. Severus couldn't remember the last time he'd seen the Weasley twins move so fast, the red colour of their shame neatly accenting the Slytherin green snakes decorating them. He was so amused by the prank that he didn't even try to take points of the twins for interrupting dinner.

Back at the Head Table, Severus reviewed the potential suspects in his head, then let his eyes roam over the tables in the Great Hall. Perhaps he could catch someone looking just a little too innocent or too smug. Not that he would actually take points of them, after all, without proof he couldn't punish anyone, now could he? But he might just be a little more kind when checking their next test, or if it was one of his Slytherins, find a way to give them a few points for a job well done.

It wasn't until he looked at the Gryffindor table that he found a suspect. Miss Granger was studiously ignoring everyone around her, and every so often her lips twitched with suppressed laughter. Yet a first year, even one as smart as Miss Granger, couldn't have brewed the potion needed to create the effect. Unless, Severus groaned, he was overlooking the obvious. He let his gaze flow from the Gryffindor table to the Slytherin table, where Harry, Draco and Theo were seated together as usual. Except, they were not sitting in their usual place. In fact, their seats were perfect for watching the Gryffindor table. Specifically the part where the Weasley twins had been enjoying their dinner. While a simple color-changing potion would just make someone turn green, with the addition of the right charms it could produce the simple snakes that had adorned the twins. But the charms were obscure, not easily found, unless one looked in specialized books. Like the ones he himself had loaned to Harry.

Severus snorted, just a project indeed. Slytherin-style revenge, more likely. And a perfect collaboration; Draco had provided the potion, Harry the research, Theo had most likely either helped there or perhaps found a way to slip the potion to the twins, and Miss Granger had been in the perfect position to cast the charms. Yes, a perfectly executed plan.

"Ten points to Gryffindor and thirty to Slytherin for inter-house co-operation," Severus whispered under his breath.

As if his giving the points had drawn Harry's attention, the boy looked up at the Head Table and straight at Severus. He nodded to Harry, who flashed him a quick smile and went back to his dinner. Yes, a perfectly executed plan indeed.

A/N: Thanks to my beta Anita!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Chapter 13: Of Dragons and Trials

Harry was honestly surprised when the Malfoy eagle owl landed in front of him with a letter. Draco had written to his father about the trial transcripts a couple of days before, but Harry hadn't really expected Lucius Malfoy to actually reply. But then again, maybe it was a politely worded 'hell no', because from being around Draco he'd learned that Malfoys could be very polite about the strangest things.

He untied the letter and fed the owl a piece of bacon, which earned him a scowl from Draco, who was of the opinion that food meant for people shouldn't be fed to animals. Harry shot him an unrepentant grin and opened the letter.

_Dear Harry_, the letter started, and Harry blinked at that. It seemed like a weirdly familiar form of address, but then again, Ron's father wouldn't call a friend of his son by his last name either.

_Through Draco I have received your request for the transcripts of Sirius Black's trial. I am sorry to inform you that there are no transcripts to be found. I have even tried searching for them by hand, thinking they might have been misplaced. It would seem that there has never been a trial, which is the only explanation possible for the lack of transcripts._

Harry's eyebrows rise as he read. Lucius Malfoy, Death Eater, had actually searched for the trial transcripts and was honest about not finding them. That had to be some kind of joke, except Harry knew it wasn't. But then again, Harry would've pegged Lucius as abusive, not Narcissa. So really, he had to admit to himself that he didn't actually know all that much about Lucius. He obviously didn't know enough about the guy to accurately predict what he was going to do.

_I have hesitated to write to you about this, having gleaned from Draco's letter that you are looking for the reason of Black's betrayal. I am certain you must feel disappointed that I am unable to help you by providing these transcripts. However, I have a sufficient amount of influence here at the Ministry to push for a __trial, if that is the course you want to take. _

Harry gasped in surprise as he read the offer to help. It would be perfect, absolutely perfect. Lucius was far more likely to succeed in getting Sirius a trial than Harry was. Besides, he didn't have to wait to find a reporter and the opportunity to talk to said reporter, no, Lucius could start right away. But there was still the fact that it was Lucius Malfoy, and yeah, Harry wasn't so sure it would be a good idea to work together.

_I __cannot, of course, promise such a trial will bring you the answers you seek. Such a lengthy stay in Azkaban will most likely had a profound impact on Black's mind and there is no telling how coherent his answers will be, even under Veritaserum. Nevertheless, it seems to be the only option if you still desire to obtain your answers._

_I will await your reply before undertaking any actions. The final word lies with you, since this is your quest._

_Kindly,_

_Lucius Malfoy_

Well, Harry knew Sirius' mind wasn't gone, thanks to him being an Animagus, but it was actually kind of sweet of Lucius to surreptitiously warn him about it. And that, right there, was weirder than anything Harry had encountered since travelling back in time. For the first time in a long time, Harry wished for the old Hermione to be there. She had known him so well, she had known so much, surely she could tell him whether it was a good idea to accept Lucius' help or not.

Putting the letter away, Harry resolved himself to the fact that Hermione wasn't here and he had to figure things out for himself. He glanced at the Head Table, where Remus was sitting next to Professor Flitwick. In the old days, he would've asked Remus' opinion on this, but he didn't have to ask to know what Remus' answer would be. Snape might actually give a more objective answer in this case, but in the end, Harry decided that Lucius was right about one thing. The decision was his in the end, so he might as well make it alone.

Across from him, Draco and Theo were shooting him questioning glances, but Harry didn't comment on the letter. Luckily, both boys had so much etiquette pounded into them that they don't ask about it. He resumed breakfast like nothing had happened and after half a minute his friends did the same. But the content of the letter didn't leave Harry's mind all day.

In the end, Harry decided that getting Sirius out of Azkaban as fast as possible is the most important thing, even more important than keeping his distance from Lucius Malfoy. So after his last class, he wrote back, thanking Lucius for his offer to help and taking him up on it. He sent Hedwig on her way, the letter tied to her leg, and watched until she was no more than a tiny speck in the distance. It was out of his hands now. All he could do was hope the trial would prove Sirius' innocence.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Harry had been riding high on the successful completion of his first ever prank. That it was the Weasley twins who got pranked made it even better. That it was in revenge for a prank pulled on his house made it even more brilliant. That Severus Snape had figured it out and approved, that had made Harry so completely giddy that it had made him stupid. Literally. Because what had he been thinking when he'd invited Draco, Theo, and Hermione to come with him on his monthly visit to Hagrid.

All the way down to Hagrid's cabin, Harry fretted about inviting his fellow Slytherins. He wasn't actually sure what he was more afraid of, Hagrid's reaction or Draco and Theo's behaviour. Actually, he was probably more afraid of Hagrid's reaction. Draco and Theo would behave for the sheer sake of politeness, but Hagrid hadn't had the best track record for tact. He might be fine with Harry being in Slytherin, but having a Malfoy and a Nott over for Saturday afternoon tea might be pushing it.

When they reached Hagrid's cabin, Harry nervously knocked on the door. Fang started barking and scratching at the door, and Draco took a nervous step back.

"Don't worry, he's harmless," Harry said reassuringly. "Just very enthusiastic."

Just then, Hagrid opened the door and quickly ushered them in. He hadn't even really looked who Harry had brought with him, but by the time Hagrid seemed to realize Harry's not alone it's too late. All four of them had seen the black egg nestled in the fire. Hagrid watched Draco and Theo with undisguised horror on his face.

"This isn' what it looks like," he said.

"Hagrid, that's a dragon's egg!" Hermione said.

Harry swallowed round the lump in his throat. He thought he could change the course of events, but Quirrell is long dead and still Hagrid has a dragon's egg. The heat inside the cabin was pressing down on him, the silence stifling. Then, Draco moved forward.

"Oh, it's beautiful," Draco said in a hushed, reverent voice.

He kneeled down besides the egg, heedless of his surroundings. The crazy thought that Draco was aptly named flitted through Harry's head. But Draco's actions have broken through the tension. Hagrid visibly relaxed now that it was apparent Draco and Theo weren't going to find the first available teacher and report him.

"Do you know what kind of dragon it is?" Theo asked.

"It's a Norwegian Ridgeback," Hagrid said with obvious pleasure. "They're very rare. I've been readin' all these books about what to do. Yeh have to put it in the fire 'cause the mother breathes on it, yeh know."

Harry listened with half an ear to the conversation about the feeding and care of a young dragon. He was still stuck on the fact that Hagrid had someone gotten his hands on a dragon's egg. He'd been convinced it had been Quirrell who'd conned Hagrid and shipped him off with a dragon's egg, but maybe that wasn't what had happened.

"How did you get it?" Harry asked. "I mean, aren't dragon eggs illegal?"

"I found it," Hagrid said. "Out in the forest. I think it might've been smugglers or somethin'. Poor thin' was in bad shape when I brought it back."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Quirrell had probably hidden the egg there, or had arranged for it to be delivered there, but then he'd died and the egg was abandoned. But now that Hagrid had the egg, it brought a whole slew of other problems. For one, there was no Ron with a convenient brother who worked with dragons to ask for help.

"Hagrid, you're not planning on keeping it, are you?" Hermione asked.

"O' course I am," Hagrid said, sounding absolutely love struck.

"But Hagrid, you live in a wooden house!" Hermione exclaimed.

Hagrid ignored her and soon after he bustled the foursome out the door after extracting promises not to tell anyone. On the way back, Hermione voiced all of their concerns.

"There's no way this is going to end well."

HPHPHPHPHPHP

The next week Harry, Hermione, Theo, and even Draco desperately tried to reason with Hagrid. Keeping an illegal dragon in a wooden house was just not a good idea. But nothing they said could convince Hagrid to get rid of the egg. Harry had known it would be useless to try and reason with his friend, but had hoped that this time around Hagrid would be a bit more reasonable. No such luck, though, which was why the four were gathered in their den to discuss their options.

"We have to do something," Hermione said. "When that egg hatches, we'll have a lot more problems on our hands."

Theo nodded.

"If that egg hatches, it will be almost impossible to keep it hidden," he said. "Hagrid will end up in Azkaban for sure."

Harry groaned. Theo was right, but he really didn't see a solution.

"We have to tell someone," Draco said.

"We can't do that," Hermione said, horrified by the suggestion. "That'll just get him arrested!"

Harry on the other hand thought Draco's idea had some merit. They couldn't solve it alone, so they needed to tell someone. Someone trustworthy, who wouldn't mind keeping it a secret. Someone like Remus.

"We could tell Remus," Harry offered. "He'll keep it a secret."

Hermione was nodding enthusiastically at the suggestion, but Draco and Theo were looking doubtful.

"I think telling Snape is a better idea," Draco said.

Harry looked at Draco incredulously. Telling Snape? The guy was all right, but this was not the kind of information you handed out to just anybody. He trusted Remus to keep this a secret, he wasn't so sure about Snape.

"Honestly Draco, there is no way Snape would keep this a secret," Harry said.

"Harry," Theo said softly. "He's our Head of House, of course he'll keep it a secret. He'll want to help."

Harry still wasn't sure about telling Snape, but in the end Theo and Draco managed to convince Hermione Snape was the best option. They mainly did it by telling her Snape would have the necessary contacts to get rid of the egg, while Remus might not. Outvoted, Harry followed the other three down to Snape's office.

Once they had all filed inside the office and the door was closed, Draco started to explain the situation. Harry tried to read Snape's reactions, but the man is a master at keeping his face bland and neutral. Once Draco, with the occasional comments from Theo and Hermione, has done his story silence fell. Harry caught himself holding his breath, waiting for what Snape would say. After a tense minute, Snape leaned forward, planting his elbows on his desk and weaving the fingers of his hands together. Over the top of them, he looked at each of them, Harry last.

"You did well, bringing this to my attention," he said. "I will handle it, do not let it concern you any longer."

The tension seeped out of Draco and Theo's postures and Hermione murmured a quiet "yes, sir, thank you", but Harry couldn't accept such an open statement so easily.

"What are you going to do, sir?" he asked.

"Deal with it," Snape replied.

"But, sir..." Harry said.

"Harry," Snape interrupted him. "Trust me."

Harry ducked his head and swallowed harshly at the memories that simple sentence brought up. It was the exact same thing Snape had said when he'd seen the wizard three months after Dumbledore was killed. Harry had replied by throwing a Blasting Curse. He hadn't actually hit the man, but the message had been clear. Snape hadn't contacted him again. Later, much later, after Hermione had found out the truth, Harry had thought back on that moment and wondered how different the war would've gone if he _had_ trusted the man.

Lifting his head back up, Harry stared into Snape's eyes. The man looked back, patiently letting Harry come to his decision. With a big sigh, Harry nodded.

"Yes, sir," he said softly.

A small smile flitted over Snape's face and for one insane moment Harry had the feeling the man was actually proud of him. With a small smile of his own, Harry said goodbye and followed his friends out of the office.

Deciding to trust Snape to handle the dragon egg problem didn't actually stop Harry from fretting. In fact, the rest of the week Harry slept poorly, dreaming about Dementors kissing Hagrid or Norbert burning down Hagrid's hut with the half-giant still inside. But the next Saturday Hagrid's curtains were open again and when Harry entered the hut the temperature was back to normal and there was no sign of the egg. Hagrid never said anything and Harry didn't ask, but that evening he whispered a quiet thanks to Snape during their Potions lesson.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Harry stared at the letter in his hands. He'd gotten it almost two weeks ago. He read through it again, even though he knew the contents by heart. Today was the day, today was Sirius' trial. It had taken Lucius a little over two months to get it arranged and as soon as he had, he'd written Harry with the trial date. Which was finally today. Harry folded the letter and put it in his robes. Hopefully, at the end of the day, he would have his godfather back.

On the one hand, Harry was glad he only had Potions that day. He had a hard time concentrating on anything, as his thoughts kept shifting back to Sirius. The only thing that kept the potion he was working on with Neville from blowing up was the fact that he'd made it already a couple of weeks ago during his private potions lesson. But he knew Snape had picked up on his distraction, because the man kept coming over to their table. Which, of course, didn't help in the slightest, since Neville was so terrified of the man he made twice as many mistakes.

Therefore, it didn't surprise Harry in the least when Snape had him stay behind at the end of class. He made his way to the front of the room. It had been a long time since he felt uncomfortable around his Head of House, but he was now. He was supposed to know better, Snape was spending his precious time on giving him extra lesson and how did he repay the man? By becoming so distracted he had almost blown up his potion several times. Harry stopped in front of Snape's desk and kept his eyes firmly on the ground. He didn't want to disappoint the man, he suddenly realized.

"Perhaps you could explain your dismal work today?" Snape asked.

There was something in the tone of Snape's voice that made Harry look up. He expected to see disappointment, or perhaps anger, but all there was to see in the man's eyes was kindness. With a rush, Harry realized he knew, Snape knew. He blew out a surprised breath and groped in his pocket for Lucius' letter. He handed it over to Snape, who did little more than skim it.

"I see," he said, and Harry really believed the man _did_ see. "Why don't you come with me?"

It wasn't a question, or even a suggestion, really. Harry followed Snape and was led to the man's private quarters. Once there, he was directed to do his Potions homework. Harry just blinked owlishly at Snape, not completely comprehending what he was doing in his teacher's private quarters.

"Once the trail ends, Lucius Malfoy will contact me," Snape said. "I thought you might like to be here when he does."

It amazed Harry that even though he'd kept this a secret, Snape had still gone to the trouble of arranging this for him. He softly thanked the man and set out to read the assigned chapter. But his concentration wasn't any better now than it had been in class and frequently his thoughts drifted away from what he was reading. Would Sirius be okay? Would he be acquitted? How was he going to react to Harry being in Slytherin? That question sent shivers down Harry's spine. If Sirius reacted unfavourably, he could be looking at going back to the Dursleys without any hope of escape. Or worse, he could still be going to live with Sirius, but have his godfather hate him.

"Harry," Snape said, drawing Harry's attention away from his dark thoughts. "Why don't we play some chess?"

Harry gratefully put aside his book. After two games, in which Snape thoroughly trounced Harry, the man started to teach him some moves. It worked pretty well as a distraction, so it was like getting a bucket of cold water thrown over him when the fire in the hearth turned green and Lucius Malfoy stepped out.

"Lucius," Snape greeted him.

"Severus, Harry," Lucius said with a regal looking nod of his head.

"How'd it go?" Harry choked out, too nervous for anything approaching politeness.

Lucius' face darkened and he gestured to the couch. Mechanically, Harry walked over and promptly collapsed there as his legs decided they weren't going to hold him up anymore. Snape sat down next to him, while Lucius took the wingback chair that was opposite the couch.

"There were...complications," Lucius said.

"Meaning?" Snape asked, his voice dark, while his hand went to Harry's shoulder.

"Sirius Black was questioned under Veritaserum and has been acquitted of all crimes," Lucius answered.

Harry had been expecting it, but it still came as a shock. Sirius was free. He'd gambled on the truth coming out in the trail and he'd won. He should feel happy, elated, or perhaps anxious, but Harry didn't feel any of those. In fact, he didn't feel anything, really, just numb.

A/N: Thanks to my beta Anita!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

A/N: This chapter is unbeta'd.

Chapter 14: Trials and Tribulations

Severus looked up from his grading to the child that was currently ensconced on his couch. Harry valiantly tried to keep his attention on his potions book, but was failing miserably. Not that Severus could blame him, with all that was going on. For a second, he wished the boy had never been sorted in his House. It would have saved him so much trouble.

Severus let his mind drift to the rather peculiar problem the child had brought before him a few weeks ago. He'd confidently told Harry and his friends that he would deal with the problem, but still the child had hesitated. Not that Severus could blame him, getting an abused child to trust an adult was like trying to move a dragon by pushing at it with your bare hands. Even now, he still wasn't sure why Harry had decided to trust him, but he wasn't one to look a gift thestral in the mouth. But the solution had not been as easy as he'd let the children believe.

HPHPHPHPHP

As soon as the children were away, Severus let out a groan. What in the world was that stupid oaf thinking! Hatching an illegal dragon's egg, not to mention involving children in it. And now he was supposed to fix things. For a fleeting moment, Severus contemplated handing the entire mess to Albus and saying 'here, you fix it'. But he wasn't entirely sure Albus could fix it without involving the Aurors or the Ministry. If Albus was forced to do that, then any progress he'd just made by getting Harry to trust him would be destroyed. It was a plain and simple test to see if he deserved the boy's trust and failure was not an option.

The easiest way, Severus contemplated, was to take the egg and destroy it. Neither the boy, nor Hagrid, need ever know the truth. But Severus didn't feel comfortable destroying such a defenceless creature. He'd done enough heinous things as a Death Eater that such an act shouldn't even register with him, but it did. Still, it was a good option to keep in mind if there was nothing else he could do.

His office hours now over, Severus shelved the problem for and packed his grading away to go and eat in the Great Hall. Hagrid was missing, as he'd been for every evening this past week. Now Severus knew why. During the meal, his mind kept straying to the problem at hand. He wanted to fix it in such a way that Harry would be happy with, even though he did not intend the tell the child what exactly he had done. He was not the one that made children accomplices in illegal activities, unlike Hagrid.

As he left the Great Hall, he saw Albus shoot him a concerned glance. Obviously the old man knew something was bothering him. But this was not something he could share. Back in his rooms, Severus sat himself down to think about the problem. The first thing he needed to do was make sure Hagrid would not get in trouble. That wouldn't be difficult, it only ruled the official channels out.

Disposing of the egg without either destroying it or getting himself arrested, that was the real problem. He knew of enough shady characters that would take the egg if he offered it for sale, even if he did it under a glamour so nobody could point the finger at him. No, getting rid of the egg was not a problem either.

But all that did was bring him back to the original problem, because whomever he could sell the egg to would use it for potions, thus killing the dragon. The only way to save the dragon would be to get it to a reserve, but smuggling it out of the country was just not possible. The only ones who could do it legally was the Ministry after they'd found an illegal egg and confiscated it. Now if only…

Suddenly, an idea formed in Severus' mind. He knew some Aurors through the Order. He could use them to make sure whomever he sold the egg to would get raided. That way, the dragon would be safe and nobody important, namely himself and that oaf, would get arrested. With a vicious grin, Severus started to compose a letter to Auror Warty Pickering, one of the few Order Aurors still living and working, about some rumours he'd heard about a certain black market potions seller and an illegal dragon's egg. He'd send it after he'd made the delivery.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Severus dragged his thoughts away from his plot to keep the dragon's egg and everyone involved safe. He was very proud of the way he'd handled it, knowing that it was one of his best plots in years. Disgruntled, Severus admitted to himself that he'd even enjoyed figuring it out. It was a refreshingly innocent variant of the kind of plotting he'd done in the war.

He looked up from his grading to check on Harry to see that the boy was still struggling to read the assigned chapter in his potions book. Severus was tempted to stop his grading and attempt to distract him, but he didn't know what the evening or even the weekend would bring and those damn essays needed to be graded before Monday. With a discipline borne from years of doing something opposite of what he wanted, he turned back to his grading.

His attention span was unfortunately rapidly approaching the same level as Harry's. He once again found his thoughts drifting, this time towards the trial that would now be in full session and everything it would bring. He had no idea how Harry was going to react to whatever it was Black was going to say. Giving his grading up as a lost cause, he threw down his quill. He walked over to the sitting area.

"Harry, why don't we play some chess?"

The boy looked relieved to be able to put his book away and if Severus hadn't know how much Harry loved Potions, he would've taken offense. They played two games, but both of them together didn't take more than twenty minutes. Harry knew the basics of chess, that is, how the pieces moved and what the objective of the game was, but he had no grasp of strategy at all. Severus knew that continuing to lose wouldn't be a good distracting, so he set out to teach Harry some moves.

It was over an hour later that the Floo activated and Lucius came through. They exchanged greetings, but that was all the social niceties Harry would allow. Not that Severus took offense at Harry's impatience to know how it had gone, he was feeling rather impatient to know the traitor's motives as well.

Lucius' face darkened at the question and he gestured to the couch. Severus felt a chill, as if he'd been hit with a freezing charm. He knew the blond wizard long enough to know something was wrong. He followed Harry to the couch and set down next to him, wanting to be close to the boy to offer comfort if it was needed. Lucius sat down opposite of them and Severus asked for an explanation with a look.

"There were…complications," Lucius said.

Severus put his hand on Harry's shoulder, as the boy had tensed up at the word 'complications'. What on Earth had happened that had Lucius so off his stride. Either way, he was not in the mood to cater to Lucius' usual word games.

"Meaning?" Severus asked, his tone making it clear he wanted a straight answer and he wanted it now.

"Sirius Black was questioned under Veritaserum and has been acquitted of all crimes," Lucius answered.

Severus tightened his hand on Harry's shoulder. Black, innocent, it boggled the mind. Severus resolutely kept from thinking about spending so long in Azkaban. Instead, he focussed on the boy next to him, who was staring at Lucius as if he hadn't quite heard right.

"What happened?" Severus asked.

"They questioned him. During the questioning, it became apparent he hadn't been the Secret-Keeper. He was the decoy, while the real Secret-Keeper was Peter Pettigrew," Lucius said.

Of course, that would explain why Black had gone after Pettigrew. But Lucius had said acquitted of all crimes.

"What about the Muggles?" he asked.

"Pettigrew was a rat Animagus, he killed the Muggles and faked his own death," Lucius replied. "But there's more."

"What?" Severus bit out.

He was getting more and more concerned about Harry's non-reaction. What else could've happened in that courtroom?

"Sirius Black is Harry's godfather and he's claimed guardianship," Lucius said.

"He wants me?" Harry said.

Lucius and Severus shared a look. The boy probably had no idea how much that plaintive question gave away, but Lucius and Severus both had no trouble hearing the underlying meaning. The anger burning in the blond wizard's eyes reminded Severus that Lucius had long fought for stricter control on Muggles raising magical children.

"Yes, he does," Lucius said. "He's been brought to St. Mungo's, where he'll recuperate from his stay in Azkaban. Once he's well enough, you'll be allowed to visit him. The Wizengamot granted him his rightful guardianship, so he is now your legal guardian."

Harry turned to Severus. His eyes looked far older than they should. Severus pushed down his rage at all this child had suffered and focussed on the here and now, where he could help.

"I won't have to go back to the Dursleys?"

"I cannot imagine any scenario where Black will allow you to go back there," Severus said. "Even if he is not well enough to take you in, he will provide you with a suitable guardian."

The smile that graced the child's face at that was blinding in its intensity. Severus let a small smile grace his lips, knowing how the child felt. It was the dream of every abused child to be taken away by some hero swooping in, some lost relative that actually wanted you. Severus himself had dreamed of it often.

He shared another look with Lucius, who couldn't have missed all the signs. With his eyes, he asked for the man's silence. Lucius gave it with a barely discernable nod of his head.

"I must return home," Lucius said. "And although I know this was quite unexpected, I do hope you won't regret the course of action you have taken."

"Oh no," Harry answered with a smile. "Thank you very much for your help, Mister Malfoy."

Another nod of his head was Lucius' answer and then he left through the Floo, leaving Severus alone with Harry. And although the child seemed to be happy with the surprising outcome of the trial, Severus was loath to let him leave so soon, so he ordered dinner for two.

During the meal, Harry chattered happily about schoolwork and Quidditch and Potions. It was the most animated Severus had ever seen the boy and that alone soothed a lot of his worries. It was clear Harry truly had no trouble with going to live with Sirius Black.

It was after desert that Harry grew quiet. He started to fiddle with his napkin, clearly uneasy about something. Severus just waited him out, having learned that it was often the best course of action where Harry was concerned.

"Do you think I can visit him?"

The question was soft and hesitant. Severus understood how hard it would be to ask for something like this. Having a saviour, of sorts, was all well and good when it was just talk. But meeting the man would make it real. Still, it was probably better that the first meeting took place under supervision and was short, instead of the two of them meeting for the first time as Harry went home for the summer.

"I will arrange a visit with him," Severus said. "It might be a few weeks before he is allowed visitors, but as soon as the Healers say it is allowed I will take you."

"Thank you sir," Harry said.

They talked for a bit after that, about nothing truly important. When Harry started to yawn, Severus put his drink down.

"Let's get you back to the dorms," he said. "You need your sleep after everything that happened today."

Harry nodded and got to his feet. Together they walked to the Slytherin dorms. Before the entrance Severus stopped and gave a quick squeeze to Harry's shoulder.

"I'll let you know when you can visit as soon as possible," he said.

Harry nodded, smiled slightly and opened the entrance by giving the password. He said goodnight, which Severus returned, and went inside. Severus could see Draco and Theodore coming up to Harry just before the entrance closed again.

Knowing Harry was in good hands with his friends, Severus made his way to the Headmaster's office. He was not looking forward to telling Albus about the outcome of Black's trial. On one hand, he couldn't really believe Albus had knowingly left an innocent man in Azkaban, on the other, Severus dreaded to find out that Albus was unhappy about Sirius assuming guardianship of Harry.

When Severus reached Albus' office, he didn't bother with knocking, but waited until he was called inside. Albus always knew when someone was there and Severus was not in the mood to cater to Albus' brand of games.

"Ah, Severus, come in, come in," Albus' voice came through the door.

With a grim smile on his face, Severus walked inside. Albus was waiting for him with tea and cookies, clearly expecting him. He sat down in one of the chairs and grabbed a cup of tea so he wouldn't fidget.

"You being here means the trial is over, I assume?" Albus asked.

"Yes," Severus said. "There were quite a few surprises."

"Really?"

Albus looked genuinely interested, but Severus knew as no other how crafty the old man could be. He couldn't judge the situation merely by whatever facade Albus presented to him.

"Yes, Sirius Black was acquitted of all crimes and was also granted his rightful custody of Harry Potter."

Severus leaned back in his chair, cradling his cup of tea, watching the effect of his words had on the other man. Albus looked old, there was no other word for it. He was pale, his eyes were wide and the hand that held his teacup shook lightly.

"All these years," Albus mumbled.

Albus seemed genuinely shocked and horrified. It seemed he hadn't known about Black's innocence after all. Perhaps as Head of the Wizengamut he could've made sure Black got a trial, but right after the Dark Lord's fall there had been utter chaos. Severus couldn't really blame Albus for allowing what had seemed to be a very guilty man to be imprisoned. Nobody expected such a grave fallacy of justice and certainly not Albus, who always tried to see the best in people. No, he couldn't blame Albus for not making sure there had been a trial.

"He's been taken to St. Mungo's for recovery," Severus said.

"Right, right," Albus said, looking a bit better. "Does Harry know already?"

Severus nodded.

"I took him to my quarters after class to keep an eye on him. Lucius reported the outcome of the trial."

"How did Harry take it?" Albus asked.

Severus shrugged.

"As well as anybody could expect. He was shocked, but seemed open to the fact that he would be living with Black from now on."

That was perhaps a bit of an understatement. Harry had seemed quite eager to go and live with Black, but then again, it was really more of a matter of being eager to get away from his family.

"Does Remus know?" Albus asked.

Severus took notice of the fact that Albus had not asked a single question about why Harry would be so open to leaving his family for a man he'd never met. It only fuelled his suspicions that Albus knew something wasn't quite right with Harry's home life. He might not know the extent of the abuse, even Severus didn't, but he knew nonetheless. Calling him on it, however, would accomplish nothing. So Severus swallowed his anger at the other man and allowed the change in topic.

"No, I haven't told Lupin," Severus said. "Nor will I. He's not my concern."

"I will inform him then. He deserves to hear this in person, not read about it in the papers."

"Very well, I will leave you to it then," Severus said.

He left his untouched tea on Albus' desk and left his office.

As he made his way to his quarters, he thought about Albus' unspoken knowledge of Harry's home life. He wondered if Albus would try and take guardianship away from Black. For if Albus had allowed Harry to stay with those despicable Muggles, there must be a reason for it. Albus might do a lot for the greater good, but even he wouldn't place a child in such conditions without a very good reason. Not that Severus would necessarily agree with those reasons, but still, there was always the chance that Albus found his reasons important enough to try and stop Sirius from taking Harry away from the Muggles.

Scowling, Severus entered his quarters. He would not allow Albus to get Harry placed back with those Muggles. If need be, Severus would testify on Black's behalf. Anything to get Harry away from an abusive environment. But Merlin did he hope it wouldn't come to that! It was bad enough that Harry would go and live with Black, who would surely turn the boy away from him completely.

Black might've been the fastest and surest way to keep Harry safe, but it was a bittersweet victory for Severus. The childhood animosity that existed between himself and Black, coupled with Black's loathing of everything Slytherin would make sure Harry would never trust him, maybe even come to loathe him. The thought of Harry turning away from him hurt more than Severus was willing to admit.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

A/N: This chapter is unbeta'd.

Chapter 15: Meet Sirius Black

Had it not been for Snape, Harry would've ended up with long-out on the floor. It irked Harry that even after years of taking the Floo, he still couldn't figure out how to actually use it correctly. And it was worse now that he was back in his eleven year old body than ever before.

"Are you all right?"

Harry looked up at Snape's soft question. The man still held his shoulder and was using his body to shield Harry from the people in the reception area. It filled Harry with warmth to know the man cared and it stilled some of butterflies fluttering around in his stomach.

"I'm fine, sir," Harry answered.

Snape didn't look like he quite believed Harry, but he didn't question it any further. Harry was glad he didn't, he was nervous enough as it was, no need to make it worse by dragging it all out in the open. He straightened his cloak, his fingers lingering on the Slytherin crest. Straightening his shoulders, he followed Snape as he made his way to the elevator. He didn't know how Sirius was going to react to him being a Slytherin, but he was still part Gryffindor inside and he refused to feel ashamed for his House.

They got out on the Fourth Floor: Spell Damage. Harry remembered it well, couldn't help but remember Neville's parents were here. Tonks had ended up there too, after the same attack that had killed Remus. St. Mungo's had been utterly destroyed two weeks after that, along with most people who had been present at the time. But right now, Harry couldn't care less about anyone who was here except for Sirius.

Snape stopped at a closed door with the number 37 on it.

"Do you want me to go inside with you?" he asked.

Harry tried to figure out if Snape would mind, but the man kept his face and voice completely neutral. Sometimes Harry cursed the fact the man was such a good spy, as it made him impossible to read when Snape wanted to hide something. Since Harry couldn't get a read on the man, he decided to just go with what he wanted and hope neither Snape nor Sirius would kick up a fuss.

"Yes, please," he said and pushed the door open, confident that Snape would be right behind him.

The room was small, just two beds. The bed closest to the door held an elderly man who was purple and whose hair was acting a bit like the vines of a Devil's Snare. But Harry's attention was riveted on the man lying in the bed by the tiny window. Sirius looked better than Harry had ever seen him. His hair was short and clean and he didn't look as gaunt as Harry remembered from the time Sirius had escaped Azkaban. He was still pale and thin, but the five weeks he'd spent at St. Mungo's had obviously done a lot for his health.

Quietly, Harry approached Sirius. When he was about half-way through the room, Sirius turned his head around and spotted him. He grinned, lighting up his face, and just like that he was the old Sirius Harry had known. He sped up and with a few paces he was beside Sirius, who was now sitting up.

"Harry," Sirius said with a wavering voice.

"Hey, uh…" Harry said, uncertain what to call Sirius, as officially they hadn't yet met.

"Call me Sirius, kiddo," he said.

Harry smiled and fidgeted a bit. Sirius padded the bed.

"Take a seat," he said. "How long have we got before you need to get back to Hogwarts?"

Harry sat down on the bed, and turned his face to Sirius. His legs dangled from the side and he was unable to keep them still due to nerves.

"Professor Snape said the Healers only allowed us an hour, but I can come back next week," Harry said.

"Well, then, let's make the most of it," Sirius said. "Tell me, how do you like Hogwarts?"

Harry smiled and launched into tales of his first year. He told about the Sorting, about Theo and Draco and Hermione, about lessons and his extra Potions lessons with Snape to learn how to make Wolfsbane. Nothing he said seemed to phase Sirius, who listened avidly to it all. They talked about Remus for a while, who, Harry learned, had visited Sirius last Thursday.

"I would've come then, but the Headmaster wouldn't allow it until today," Harry said. "He didn't want me to miss any school."

"Don't worry about it," Sirius said. "So, Remus told me about the photo album he gave you, and it got me thinking. I've got some stuff from the old days in my vault. Once they let me out of here, I'll get it. We can look it over this summer."

"That would be great," Harry said enthusiastic.

He fell silent then. He wanted to ask about where he was going to stay for the summer holidays, which started in four weeks, but he didn't quite dare.

"Spit it out," Sirius said.

Harry looked up from the patch of floor he'd been staring at, startled. Sirius had a wry smile on his face and a touch of fear could be detected in his eyes.

"Will they let you out in time for summer holidays?" Harry asked. "I mean, if they don't, then where am I…"

Sirius let out a barking laugh, which had Harry smiling despite his nerves about the upcoming holidays and where he would be staying.

"Don't worry, they'll have let me go by then," Sirius said. "I've already enlisted help in fixing up my house. It's in quite a bit of disrepair, but it will be at the very least livable by the time summer holidays start. "

"Great," Harry said.

He attempted to smile, but a small part of him was still unsure. Sirius had been known to treat the most serious situations as a joke, often underestimating things. It was that very trait that had gotten him killed.

"Hey, don't worry," Sirius said, placing his hand on Harry's and giving it a squeeze. "If they don't let me out, Remus will take care of you in the meantime."

"He can do that?" Harry asked surprised. "I thought, what with the Ministry and all…"

"He can't be your legal guardian, but nobody can stop me from hiring him as a temporary babysitter, for lack of a better word," Sirius said with a mischievous grin on his face.

Harry grinned back, reassured now that he knew he definitely didn't have to go back to the Dursleys. He started to ask some questions about where they would be staying during the summer, since he wasn't supposed to know anything about Grimmauld Place, but before he could Snape came up to them.

"The Healer has asked us to leave, since visiting hour is over," he said with an apologetic tone.

Sirius grimaced, but Harry couldn't be sure if it was because Snape was here or if it was because they had to leave. Harry embraced Sirius, intending for a quick hug, but Sirius clamped his arms around him. Harry relaxed into the hug, reveling in the feeling of being held by an adult who had always stood behind him. It was with great reluctance that the two of them let each other go, and only because Snape cleared his throat.

As Harry walked out of the ward after promising to come again next week, he looked back at Sirius, who was looking after him with a forlorn look on his face. When the man saw Harry looking, he smiled slightly and waved. Harry waved back, his heart light at the idea of spending a summer with Sirius, who was now free to come and go as he pleased instead of being stuck in Grimmauld Place.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The whole House was gathered in the common room for a House Meeting. They were going home tomorrow and Harry was torn between happy the summer holidays were there, which he got to spend with Sirius, and sad that he wouldn't see his friends until they were back at Hogwarts again. Both Draco and Theo had told him it would be unlikely their parents would permit them to visit Harry and Harry was equally sure Sirius would not let him go and visit the Malfoy or Nott family. Hermione would be gone on holiday with her parents for at least part of the summer, so he doubted they'd get the chance to visit.

Snape cleared his throat and the room fell silent. As Harry watched the man congratulate Slytherin House on winning the House Cup, he thought about how much everything had changed for him this year. When he'd gone back in time, he'd figured he'd be in Gryffindor, friends with Hermione and Ron, playing Quidditch, going after the Stone and in the end win the House Cup. Only being friends with Hermione and winning the House Cup had actually happened. But in light of the new friends he'd made and the fact that he'd gotten Sirius free and acquitted, he wasn't sorry at all for all the changes he'd made.

"Now, before I let all of you get some well deserved rest, I want to make it clear that even though you will no longer reside at Hogwarts come tomorrow, you are still very much a part of Slytherin House. This also includes those of you who will go out into the world instead of just going away for the holidays," Snape said.

Harry reflected that although he'd never been ashamed of being in Gryffindor, there had never been so much coherence, so much support from his old House. In fact, several times came to mind in which Gryffindor had been less than supportive. During his second year when everyone discovered he was a Parslemouth, during the Triwizard Tournament, during fifth year when Umbridge had wrecked havoc in the school and what had seemed like most of the wizarding world thought he was a lunatic. Examples enough, and Harry was feeling particularly relieved he wouldn't have to live through those trying times a second time.

"I will always be available should you need any help. You are free to send a letter to me at any time and should you find yourself in an emergency," Snape said, and Harry noticed he let his gaze linger on several Slytherins, including Draco and Theo, "you can use the Floo to go to my house. Just call out Spinner's End."

Harry knew he probably looked like an idiot, gaping at Snape as if the man had turned into a fairy. He certainly had not expected Snape, who was an intensely private man by nature and necessity, to open up his home for his students. Although this year had proved to Harry that Snape was not the selfish, arrogant and vicious man he had assumed the teacher was, this was still far more generous and caring than he would've given the man credit for.

Snape said a few more words of goodbye before leaving the common room. The Slytherins dispersed, not at all interested in going to bed yet. Harry ended up on a couch between Draco and Theo, talking and laughing. How different it was from what had been his usual routine of cramming in as many hours to do his summer homework before going back to the Dursleys. This time, he could do his homework out in the open, even ask Sirius for help if he needed it. As he relaxed with his friends, Harry thought to himself he was very glad he had forgotten to talk the Hat out of Sorting him in Slytherin.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The atmosphere in the train compartment was tense. It had all been fun and games until about half-way through the trip back to London. Then Hermione had started talking about staying in contact during the summer. Theo had tactfully said he wasn't much of a letter writer, to which Hermione had cheerfully replied that it didn't matter to her. Then Draco had piped up.

"We're not writing to a Mudblood like you and we don't want you writing to us."

It had been said in the snotty, aristocratic tone Harry was so familiar with from _before_, but hadn't heard since he'd been Sorted into Slytherin. Hermione had retreated into a book, Draco was staring moodily out the window and Theo was staring at the roof of the compartment.

Harry had enough of it, quite frankly. This was supposed to be his very first happy summer holiday and he was damned if his friends decided to spoil it with a last minute argument.

"This is bloody ridiculous!" he burst out.

Everybody looked at him, surprise showing even on Draco's face.

"We all like each other, and no Draco, you can't tell me any differently," Harry said, before Draco could even open his mouth. "You don't give a rat's ass about Hermione being a Muggleborn, or you'd have said something about it before."

Draco mulishly stared at Harry, but Theo was slowly nodding his head.

"Harry's right, Hermione," he said with a soft tone. "It's not that we don't like you. You're smart and you act like a witch and everything, but our parents…"

"They'd kill us for writing to you. If it's just in school, we can say we tolerate you, use you, whatever. But socializing during the summer? There's no excuse they would buy," Draco said.

Hermione huffed in agitation.

"This whole prejudice is just ridiculous. I've got just as much magic as any Pureblood."

"Nobody's denying that," Harry said. "Well, no one here, anyway."

Theo looked uncertainly at Hermione.

"You do understand why we can't write, don't you?"

Hermione smiled.

"Oh, yes, I don't blame you," she said. Then she frowned. "But this whole Pureblood system is just so wrong. Did you know that a lot of rules, like no magic during the summer, are actually only enforced on Muggleborns? If there's an adult witch or wizard on the premises, the Ministry can't distinguish between their magic use and that of any children living there, so it's only Muggleborns who are actually affected by that rule."

"Yes, well, we're a long way off from being able to change that," Draco said. "If anybody even can."

Draco and Theo seemed to think that closed the subject, as they started talking and joking again. They were clearly relieved Hermione understood why they couldn't have contact during the summer and didn't hold it against them.

Harry knew better. He recognized the look she had on her face. There was no way she was going to let this go. Harry bent towards her, glad that Draco and Theo were engrossed in a loud discussion about Quidditch just then.

"Whatever your thinking about, count me in," he whispered in her ear. "And I'll pass along all the news this summer, there's no restrictions on writing to me."

Hermione smiled at him, a gleam in her eyes that made Harry remember S.P.E.W. rather uncomfortably. Even at such a young age, Hermione had been devious in the previous timeline, with a remarkable good grip on politics and PR. And he'd just thrown his not insignificant political clout as the Boy Who Lived behind her. He was doomed, he just knew it. At least it was for a good cause this time, instead of liberating house-elves who didn't want to be free.

"What are the two of you plotting?" Draco suddenly asked.

Harry looked at the blond wizard, surprised he'd even noticed Harry talking with Hermione. He'd seemed completely engrossed in the Quidditch argument. Draco rolled his eyes.

"Please, you'd have to be a lot more subtle to get anything past _me_," he said. "I'm a Malfoy, I was spoon-fed how to plot and plan."

"Well, we were just-" Hermione said.

"Talking about Quidditch," Harry interrupted. "A discussion we should continue once we're back at Hogwarts."

Hermione looked bewildered, but both Draco and Theo nodded their heads.

"Yes, I don't think our parents would like us to talk of nothing but Quidditch," Theo said.

Hermione's eyes widened in comprehension.

"Plausible deniability," she murmured.

Now it was Draco and Theo's turn to look bewildered, but they shrugged it off after a minute. Harry grinned and suggested they play Exploding Snap. The other three enthusiastically agreed and soon they were deeply engrossed in the game.

By the time the train rolled into King's Cross, the good mood between the friends had been restored and they cheerfully said goodbye to each other before exciting the train. Hermione immediately went off to her parents, as did Theo. Harry and Draco shouldered their way further down to platform, edging closer to the exit. Then Harry saw Lucius Malfoy. Draco had obviously seen him as well, as he gave Harry a cheerful wave and headed towards his father.

Harry continued walking, scanning the crowd for Sirius. His godfather had promised to be here to pick Harry up, but was nowhere to be seen. Harry bit his lip, worry overcoming him. What if Sirius had forgotten him? Or worse, decided he didn't want him and just left Harry on the platform?

But before Harry could descend into total panic, a cheerful voice sounded from behind him,

"Hey kiddo!"

Harry whirled around to see a grinning Sirius standing not two feet from him.

"Sirius!" Harry cried out and hugged the man.

Sirius let out a barking laugh and hugged back. For a few moments, the two of them just clung together. It was Sirius who withdrew first.

"So, looking forward to this summer?" he asked.

"Yes," Harry said with a big grin on his face.

Sirius shrank Harry's trunk and took Hedwig's cage. Then he made his way through the crowd, away from the exit to the Muggle platforms. Confused, Harry followed him.

"We're taking the Floo," he said. "You go first and I'll follow with Hedwig. The wards are already keyed to you. Just say 'Twelve Grimmauld Place' and you'll be fine."

They'd reached a row of fireplaces that were tucked away at the other end of the platform. Harry'd never seen them before, but it was rather crowded. If Sirius had taken the Floo here, it was no wonder he'd been late. There were still people coming out of the Floo, looking haggard and in a rush. Sirius dropped two Knuts in a jar on the mantle of the fireplace and directed Harry to take a pinch of Floo powder from the jar next to it.

Harry threw the Floo powder into the fire, watched as the flames changed color. With a step forward, he was in the middle of the brilliant green flames and he shouted out the directions of Grimmauld Place. After a dizzying ride, Harry was spat out at the other end, causing him to go sprawling onto the floor.

He sat up in the unfamiliar room. The walls were a light crème color and the carpet on which he sat a rich, burgundy red. He had no idea where he was and feared he might've gotten off at the wrong fireplace. Until he looked to his right, straight at the wall-covering tapestry of the Black family tree.

The last time he'd seen it, the tapestry had been shabby and several names had been burned off. this time, however, it was clean and clearly restored. Because there, next to his brother Regulus was Sirius' name. The thread was clearly newer than that of his brother, but Harry didn't care. He searched out Andromeda's name, which had been linked to her husband's name, and Tonks was on it too.

Harry let out a delighted laugh. He wanted to bet most of the Black's on the tapestry would roll over in their graves of mortification. A Muggle, in the family tree, for all to see.

"What's so funny?" Sirius asked.

Harry hadn't even heard him come through the Floo. But he couldn't stop laughing long enough to explain to Sirius, so in the end he just pointed to Ted Tonk's name. Sirius seemed to understand him though, since he burst out in laughter as well.

Oh yes, this is going to be a great summer, Harry thought.

A/N: The story continues in the sequel Of Past Times. The first chapter is up and the story picks up straight from this chapter. Harry's summer holidays doesn't go as planned at all, but despite that he still needs to get his hands on Tom Riddle's diary. At Hogwarts things are changing as well, as Hermione starts the Society for the Integration of Muggleborn.


End file.
